Issuu

YEAR OF THE ZOMBIES See ARTS FEATURE, page 30

FISH KILL See NEWSLINES, page 8

BLUE /BALE See REEL WORLD, page 38

BY KEN SMITH PAGE

Chico’s News & Entertainment Weekly

On the front lines with a North State militia and its controversial community watch Volume 37, Issue 16

Thursday, December 12, 2013

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2 CN&R December 12, 2013

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OPINION

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Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Guest Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Second & Flume . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Streetalk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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HEALTHLINES The Pulse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Weekly Dose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

GREENWAYS EarthWatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Eco Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 UnCommon Sense . . . . . . . . . . 18 The GreenHouse . . . . . . . . . . . 19

COVER STORY

ARTS & CULTURE In The Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Arts Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 This Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Fine Arts listings . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Chow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Reel World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Nightlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Arts DEVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

REAL ESTATE

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BACKSTOP From The Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Fifteen Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Brezsny’s Astrology . . . . . . . 47

ON THE COVER: PHOTO BY MELANIE MACTAVISH DESIGN BY TINA FLYNN

Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Mark Schuttenberg Distribution Staff Ken Gates, Bob Meads, Lisa Ramirez, Pat Rogers, Mara Schultz, Larry Smith, Placido Torres, Jeff Traficante, Bill Unger, Lisa Van Der Maelen Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor Melissa Daugherty Associate Editor Christine G.K. LaPado-Breglia Arts Editor Jason Cassidy News Editor Tom Gascoyne Asst. News Editor/Projects Editor Howard Hardee Staff Writer Ken Smith Calendar Assistant Mallory Russell Contributors Catherine Beeghly, Craig Blamer, Alastair Bland, Henri Bourride, Rachel Bush, Vic Cantu, Matthew Craggs, Kyle Delmar, Emiliano Garcia-Sarnoff, Meredith J. Graham, Miles Jordan, Karen Laslo, Leslie Layton, Mark Lore, Melanie MacTavish, Jesse Mills, Mazi Noble, Jerry Olenyn, Anthony Peyton Porter, Shannon Rooney, Claire Hutkins Seda, Juan-Carlos Selznick, Matt Siracusa, Robert Speer, Daniel Taylor, Evan Tuchinsky Intern Katherine Green Managing Art Director Tina Flynn Editorial Designer Sandra Peters Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Design Mary Key, Vivian Liu, Serene Lusano, Marianne Mancina, Skyler Smith Advertising Manager Jamie DeGarmo Advertising Services Coordinator Ruth Alderson Advertising Consultants Brian Corbit, Laura Golino, Matthew Keller Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Accounting Specialists Renee Briscoe, Tami Sandoval Accounts Receivable Specialist Nicole Jackson Receptionist Kendra Gray Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 353 E. Second Street, Chico, CA 95928 Phone (530) 894-2300 Fax (530) 894-0143 Website www.newsreview.com Got a News Tip? (530) 894-2300, ext. 2245 or chiconewstips@newsreview.com Calendar Events www.newsreview.com/calendar Calendar Questions (530) 894-2300, ext. 2240 Classifieds/Talking Personals (530) 894-2300, press 4 Printed by Paradise Post The CN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available.

Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the Chico News & Review are those of the author and not Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint portions of the paper. The Chico News & Review is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. Email letters to chicoletters@newsreview.com. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to edit letters for length (200 words or less), clarity and libel or not to publish them. Circulation 40,000 copies distributed free weekly.

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Send guest comments, 400 words maximum, to gc@ newsreview.com, or to 353 E. 2nd St., Chico, CA 95928. Please include photo & short bio.

Assessing realignment A Public Policy Institute report this week linking prison

realignment to a 7.6 percent hike in property crimes statewide, especially auto theft, appears to substantiate conservatives’ insistence that realignment, which sends people convicted of nonviolent, nonserious and nonsexual crimes (the so-called “nons”) to jail rather than prison, is causing a “crime wave” in California. Yes, the number of property crimes has gone up slightly, but not in all counties. Some, like Placer and El Dorado, have seen decreases. Calling it a “crime wave” is hyperbole. It’s important to remember that, pushed by a court order to reduce the prison population, state corrections officials have diverted more than 18,000 convicts to county jails. Many of these facilities are so crowded that jail officials have to release prisoners to make room as fast as they come in. It’s too soon to say realignment isn’t working. It will be several years before we know its long-term effects. Crime rates remain at historically low levels, and the state is investing heavily in rehabilitation and crimeprevention programs. As Deborah Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a written statement, “The impact of these investments will be measured over years, not months.” On the other hand, realignment is not working well when it comes to people sentenced to “county prison.” Consider the case of Alfred Driscol, a Chico attorney sentenced this week to five years in jail for defrauding and stealing from some of his clients. Driscol had no prior record, he’s 65 years old and his heart is bad, and his crimes fall into the “nons” categories. Previously, he would have been sent to a low-security and relatively mellow prison camp. Instead, he will do hard time in the Butte County Jail. There’s no excusing his crimes, but the punishment is harsher than it should be, thanks to realignment. Ω

A homeless encounter Ithe street—mothers and children and kind men. I meet stringy, weather-beaten men of indeterminate age with matted

laugh when people say they meet “good people” on

hair and beards, and women who look like troglodytes. They’re loud, aggressive, insistent, demanding, rude and overly familiar. They’re entitled, because they think I have more than they do and I should share. They will have money from me. But in reality they won’t, leaving them to shout, “Fuck you, bitch!” by I recently had an Michele French encounter with some homeless on a morning The author is a when the heavens opened freelance writer and and I got soaked going to “day-to-day the grocery store, even survivor.” She wrote though I took the bus most of the way. the June 13 CN&R On my way back from the store, I tried to Cover story “Canning walk beneath the awning that protects the way of life” under a storefronts. pen name. In front of the laundromat, a group of street people was camping out, obviously as eager as I was to avoid getting wet. I threaded my way delicately through their bicycles, trailers and gear. As I stepped over an empty dog-food bowl, a beefy young man with rust-red, wiry hair and a

beard confronted me. “You should have said, ‘Excuse me!’” he announced. “Better yet, you should have just walked around us!” I expressed a wish not to get any wetter than I already was, and foolishly said I believed that the sidewalk was for everybody. Red Beard rejoined that I should just go out in the rain, turn my face up, open my mouth and drown like a stupid turkey. He demonstrated this and it wasn’t a pretty sight. I retorted cleverly, “I think I’m talking to a turkey.” That effectively ended the conversation, except that as I turned to go, the woman squatting by the food bowl started making gobbling sounds. The homeless must have the last word—or sound, in this case. Right now, I’m all for a “no sit, no lie, no stand, no sleep, no breathe, no piss, no...”— well, you know. The homeless don’t want to behave. They don’t get along with others; they don’t want to. They don’t want rules and regulations. They want to come and go as they please; drink, smoke or ingest whatever they desire; misbehave; and have you love them anyway. Ω

The homeless don’t want to behave. They don’t get along with others; they don’t want to.

4 CN&R December 12, 2013

Mindful holiday shopping Chico retailers lose an estimated $85.5 million annually to sales

outside of the area. That’s according to the Chico Retail Market Analysis, a survey released this past summer by Tri Counties Bank, which also found that a majority of respondents—just more than 50 percent—use the Internet or mail order to do most of their shopping. That means the local economy is losing millions of dollars to online vendors. Moreover, the losses, in the form of sales-tax revenues, are a hit to the city’s general fund. Keep in mind that money spent at locally owned retailers circulates in the local community on a much greater scale than money spent at big-box stores. Sure, those mega-retailers provide jobs in the local economy as well as local sales tax, but much of the money spent there goes to their out-ofstate headquarters and to corporate salaries. So, this year, before you head out the door with your holiday gift list, remind yourself to “shop local.” Commit to making your purchases in brick-andmortar businesses in our region, focusing on independent retailers. Shopping at the little guy has the added bonus that you’re more likely to find oneof-a-kind gifts. You may even find items that are made by local artisans and craftspeople. Speaking of local businesses, we want to thank all of the CN&R’s advertisers and the 100,000 people who read our work, week in and week out. Without them, we couldn’t put out a newspaper. So, thank you for helping keep independent, community journalism alive and thriving. Ω

Shopping at the little guy has the added bonus that you’re more likely to find one-of-a-kind gifts.

Send email to chicoletters @ newsreview.com

SECOND & FLUME by Melissa Daugherty melissad@newsreview.com

Holidaze Here it is creeping up on midDecember and I haven’t done a lick of Christmas shopping. This weekend and the next are going to be busy ones in the Daugherty household. My goal, as it has been for many years, is to purchase as many gifts as possible at local retailers. It’s sometimes tempting to seek out the deep discounts offered by online vendors this time of year, and I probably won’t find everything on my list in the independent brick-and-mortar shops, but I’m fairly confident I can come darned close to it (see Editorial, page 4). A few years ago, when I was on maternity leave, I did the 4 a.m. Black Friday thing with a couple of my cousins who brave the lines and the crowds every year. I’d never experienced anything like it, and out of curiosity I joined their party. We hit up four of the big-box stores in town, including Walmart, where I saw hordes of people standing around an unopened pallet, waiting for an employee to open the wrapping, thus revealing its contents. I watched from a safe distance, figuring it must be something really awesome. When the shrink wrap came undone, people began a furious scramble to grab one of the boxes (picture flailing arms). To my surprise, their prize was a cheapie made-in-China waffle maker. I think it was marked down to $5—evidently the price at which a waffle maker seems a necessity. I ended up buying a couple of things: a toy for my then-newborn son and a small Shop-Vac for my husband. Now I know what I’m missing when I sleep through the day-after-Thanksgiving madness. I’ve no desire to do it again. Of course, this year, many of those big boxes opened their doors on the evening of the holiday. I didn’t go for that, either. Update: Somebody who enjoyed Allan Stellar’s essay about spending the night on Mount Harkness in Lassen Volcanic National Park during the government shutdown sent a small donation in care of the CN&R to help defray the $250 fine Stellar incurred for breaking a closure order and camping in a restricted area. That reader, a woman named Carol, is from Redlands, a community just east of San Bernardino, in sunny Southern California. Because the donation came via snail mail, I don’t know how she came upon the story. Could be she’s a regular reader. Could be she’s a big fan of late environmentalist Edward Abbey—the inspiration for Stellar’s initial attempt to camp legally at the site, and then his further inspiration for his act of civil disobedience once the shutdown went into effect. Either way, thanks to the almighty World Wide Web, Stellar’s story has traveled far beyond the confines of the North State. And thanks to Carol’s generosity, there’s a dent in the fee he has to pony up. If anyone else is so inspired to help the cause, donations can be made in care of the CN&R, 353 E. Second St., Chico, CA 95928.

Melissa Daugherty is editor of the CN&R

Three on cops shop Re “The thin blue line” (Second & Flume, by Melissa Daugherty, Dec. 5.): I think you have sorted the police department mess out logically and accurately, with facts to corroborate your conclusions. Fine work! NANCY M. RILEY Chico

Everybody has their underwear in a knot over Chico Police Officer Todd Boothe’s Facebook postings, or City Councilman Randall Stone’s response to same, but why aren’t more people paying attention to the contract talks? Earlier this year, Stone asked police and fire to pay their own pensions and benefits. The city of Chico spent over $10 million last year on employee benefits, $2 million of that on the “employee share.” Most of that goes to the police employees, who pay none of their own share, but retire at 90 percent of their salary at age 50. Earlier this year, the police offered to pay their share, but only if they were reimbursed with the same amount in salary increases. They also demanded promotions, including one officer who will retire in less than a year at 90 percent of his newly “spiked” salary. Please join the Chico Taxpayers Association in asking council and staff to come up with contracts we can afford. The average Chico police officer makes over $70,000 per year, plus overtime, while the average family makes less than $40,000 per year. All we’re asking is that these generously compensated employees pay for their exorbitant pension and benefits packages.

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I appreciate the perspective from you and your editors, but I have a serious problem with your assertion that the financial problems of the city fall on the shoulders of its public-safety employees. It wasn’t police or fire departments that created a $15.2 million deficit by stirring 239 accounts. As for City Councilman Randall Stone, he has manipulated numbers to propel his agenda. All he’s pushed are lies (e.g., lowest-paid firefighters start out making $116,000). Stone has every right to request an investigation into his feeling that there is racism in the police department, but what you’re not talking about is the violation of due process. He started off that way, but couldn’t contain his ego. Contacting the media before the investigation even started is where Stone crossed the line. People can think anything they want about what I make. I would just appreciate it if they got—and understood—the facts, asked questions about things they don’t understand, and then based their (your) opinion on those facts. This city doesn’t need any more writers that make stuff up and post it on their blog as fact. We all should have learned from previous LETTERS continued on page 6

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Re “Mystery overhead” (Greenways, by Evan Tuchinsky, Dec. 5): Kudos to Evan Tuchinsky for his integrity in reporting this heavily manipulated and secretive agenda, and also to the others who may have had a role in exposing this. The government needs to come clean on this. RAYMOND MILLION Elk, Wash.

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About those trails

While I was disappointed with the one-sidedness of this article—I am sure there are plenty of respected folks out there available to provide a different opinion of “chemtrails”—it was only when I read the excerpt from the 2013 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that I chose to respond. The quotation is taken out of context and seems to imply that solar radiation management (SRM) is presently occurring. Here is a more complete excerpt on this topic, from page 21 of the IPCC report: “Methods that aim to deliberately alter the climate system to counter climate change, termed geoengineering, have been proposed. Limited evidence precludes a comprehensive quantitative assessment of both Solar Radiation Management (SRM) and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and their impact on the climate system. … Modeling indicates that SRM methods, if realizable, have the potential to substantially offset a global temperature rise, but they would also modify the global water cycle, and would not reduce ocean acidification.” In summary, the IPCC is talking about possible SRM in the future and its potential consequences. If anything, it is an argument against SRM. The brief snippet that Evan Tuchinsky used appears on a number of conspiracy theory websites, but the real deal sets a different tone. JEREMY MILLER Chico

Contrails are formed right behind aircraft engines and are simply a manifestation of exhaust: Moisture in the air, impacted by pressure and temperature changes, is condensed and freezes, making snow. Think of the exhaust of a fourengine jet liner as being four giant snow-blowing machines. The only aircraft in the U.S. Air Force

inventory for aerial spraying of chemicals is the C-130 Mobile Aerial Spray System (MASS); the C-130 has a loaded service ceiling of 23,000 feet (and contrails appear only at conditions above 26,000 feet and -40 degrees C). So the next time you see “chemtrails” in the sky, it’s just an airliner making snow while the passengers aboard sing festive holiday songs. MIKE PETERS Chico

City of (chopped) trees Re “Valley oak to get axed” (Downstroke, Dec. 5): For a City of Trees, this is indeed a sad tale. I do not blame BEC for dropping this issue, nor the Salvation Army for its efforts to provide housing. But had an urban-forestry department been in existence, a win-win might have been found. City of Chico, get your act together! JONI STELLAR Concow

than makes up for the website’s inconveniences. EVE WERNER Chico

Reform is necessary Generational theft is taking place by us seniors, as AARP has become so strong. There are now fewer seniors—and more children—in poverty. Medicare is not sustainable without reform. At the very least, it should be “means-tested.” Only 30 percent to 40 percent of seniors really need it. The great majority of cost comes in the last three years of life. For me, create a free pill that would painlessly end this life. If I can only exist on a machine, pull the plug. A family of two having a good job will contribute an estimated $119,000 to the Medicare fund until reaching age 65, and will then receive an estimated $357,000 in benefits before dying. The difference is made up by cur-

“Here are the facts: My new health-insurance policy, purchased on the Covered California website yesterday, will cost me $262 less per month than my existing policy. That’s for a lower deductible, lower annual outof-pocket maximum, and lower co-pays for doctors, hospitals and medication.”

–Eve Werner

Obamacare for the win If I had a megaphone in my possession, and didn’t mind annoying the world, I’d be on my rooftop right now, singing the praises of Obamacare. Here are the facts: My new health-insurance policy, purchased on the Covered California website yesterday, will cost me $262 less per month than my existing policy. That’s for a lower deductible, lower annual out-of-pocket maximum, and lower co-pays for doctors, hospitals and medication. Really. Don’t just listen to me and definitely don’t listen to trash-talkers. Go online and find out for yourself. For me, the $3,000 a year that I’ll save in premiums alone more

rent taxpayers and there will soon be fewer taxpayers as “baby boomers” retire and make Medicare even more unsustainable. This is part of the message being given by two philanthropists to college students, saying they must get as organized as the AARP if they want to get their share of the spending pie. Go to www.tinyurl.com/gentheft to see charts and the rest of their message. Go to www.vim eo.com/65731171 to see a video of their presentation to college students. Young people, get involved! NORM DILLINGER Chico

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CN&R 7

FRACKING REACTION

There’s an effort underway to qualify an ordinance that would place a moratorium in Butte County on hydraulic fracturing and “other unconventional [methods of] oil and gas recovery, and on disposal of toxic wastes from these operations.” According to a press release from Citizens’ Action Network, notice was filed with the county elections office Nov. 27 to begin collecting signatures to place the ordinance on next year’s general-election ballot. Signature gatherers need to obtain signatures amounting to 10 percent of the votes cast in Butte County during the last gubernatorial election—about 7,500—to get the ordinance onto the ballot. They have 30 days after getting the go-ahead from the elections office to gather the signatures. If passed, the moratorium would stay in effect until “sufficient regulations are in place to protect Butte County’s fresh water, air and soil, agriculture and other key industries, and the health and welfare of Butte County’s communities,” says the press release.

Left: Shasta Dam. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION

Feds kill baby salmon

Below: California Department of Fish and Wildlife employee Patrick Jarrett holds salmon eggs from a redd exposed on a gravel bar. PHOTO COURTESY OF DOUG KILLAM

TUNNEL OPPOSITION

Opponents of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, Gov. Jerry Brown’s push for two tunnels to funnel North State water south, were quick to react to the release of the plan’s environmental reports this week. A statewide group called Californians for a Fair Water Policy, whose membership includes the local water watchdogs AquAlliance and the Butte Environmental Council, has launched a statewide campaign opposing the plan. “There is little doubt that the massive tunnels will drain the Sacramento River and North State aquifers, diminish vital flows into the already stressed Delta, further stress native salmon runs, and destroy 150-year-old family farms to benefit unsustainable corporate agribusiness in the southern San Joaquin Valley,” said Barbara Vlamis, executive director of AquAlliance, in a press release.

SHERIFF ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Butte County Sheriff Jerry Smith surprised many attending the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10, by announcing that he will not seek re-election next year. The sheriff used the opportunity to endorse Undersheriff Kory Honea as his successor, indicating that Honea’s campaign would receive his “full support.” Smith (pictured), originally hired by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office in 1978, has served as county sheriff since 2010, when Perry Reniff stepped down from the position due to health reasons. Both Reniff and county District Attorney Mike Ramsey recommended Smith for the position, which he assumed after an unopposed campaign. Smith said during his announcement that, after 36 years with the sheriff’s office, it’s simply “time to turn the page.” He left the supervisors’ chambers to applause. 8 CN&R December 12, 2013

Strong Sacramento River migration diluted by poor water management

T was expected to be one of the larger spawning events in recent history. However, the great his fall’s return of chinook salmon

success of this year’s run, of which hundreds of thousands are believed to have spawned, has been compromised by by a management disaster that Alastair Bland state biologists believe may have killed up to 40 percent of the eggs produced by the fish. To conserve water in the reservoir behind Shasta Dam, federal water managers drastically cut the dam’s outflow volume in early November, from more than 6,000 cubic feet per second to 3,750, leaving numerous salmon nests, or redds— each containing thousands of eggs—high and dry. “We believe hundreds of redds, if not thousands, were lost,” said Doug Killam, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Bureau of Reclamation lowers the outflow through Shasta Dam most years—an action called “dewatering” the river. This helps to build up reservoir volume in Shasta Lake for use the following spring and summer, when Central Valley farmers need the most water for irrigation. However, there wasn’t enough rain this autumn to keep the Sacramento River flowing at full throttle after dewatering began. Thousands of salmon had already spawned, many of them in shallow riffles hardly a foot below the surface. Then, as the river level dropped, many redds full of fertilized eggs were exposed on gravel bars. Louis Moore, a spokesman with the Bureau of Reclamation, says water must be stored in

Shasta Lake to meet the needs of agriculture, industries and municipalities. “But no one is making an operational decision without regard” for salmon, he said. That a great number of fish was lost “is really unfortunate.” Killam noted that, even in a dry autumn, dewatering the river shouldn’t necessarily be a disaster for salmon. “If you believe it’s going to be a dry year, you can lower the flow before the fish start spawning,” he explained. “That way, you’ve set a flow level that’s possible to maintain [for the three months it takes for the eggs to hatch].” Dewatering is often done in September, just before the fall-run salmon begin arriving at their spawning grounds. But the feds dewatered later this year—well after fall-run salmon were already laying their eggs. This, ironically, was an effort to avoid exposing the redds of endangered winter-run salmon, which usually spawn in June. But a small number of winter-run fish laid and fertilized their eggs in August. So river levels were held steady to keep the winter-run eggs submerged. This amounted to a trade-off in which the fall-run redds were sacrificed. Killam spends many days on the Sacramento River with assistants counting salmon redds, which appear to the

eye as oval-shaped patches of disturbed gravel and overturned cobblestones. Redds can even be identified from lowflying airplanes, Killam says. He estimates that about 20 winter-run redds were spared in the decision that cost such a great percentage of the fall run. Fishing-industry representatives

would like to see federal policies that give more priority to the fall-run fish. John McManus, the executive director of the Golden Gate Salmon Association, a Bay Area conservation group, said he believes the Bureau of Reclamation could have avoided destroying any salmon nests, period. “They didn’t have to lower the river at all,” he suggested. The fall run is the core of California’s commercial and recreational salmon fishery, worth an estimated $1.4 billion, according to fishing-industry representatives. But because the fall-run chinook is not an endangered or threatened species, it is legal for water managers to incidentally destroy the fish if there is no way to avoid doing so. Causing the deaths of winter-run chinook is, by contrast, usually illegal. “We’d like this to change,” said McManus. “We’d like the feds to be required to plan for the needs of [the

fall-run chinook], just like they do for endangered species, for agriculture, for energy.” Water releases from Shasta Dam are just one of multiple environmental factors that can affect the abundance of Sacramento River salmon. Using the river’s water to irrigate farmland has long been blamed as a reason that chinooksalmon runs have declined from historical highs. The Delta pumps near Stockton that remove this water take about 50 percent of the Sacramento’s volume per year, sending much of it to farms in the San Joaquin Valley. They can kill baby fish by drawing them into the pumps themselves, or indirectly, by diverting them into dead-end sloughs from which the fish never find their way out. While environmentalists want officials to scale down water exports, the state is looking to ramp up its water diversion and conveyance system. On Monday (Dec. 9), state officials unveiled their Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a proposal to build two enormous tunnels that would boost the capacity to remove the Sacramento River’s water and send it south for municipal and agricultural use. Environmentalists have warned that the BDCP could cause the extinction of salmon, striped bass and sturgeon. Eight months ago, another mishap in the Sacramento delivered a blow to chinook salmon. Several hundred winter-run adults, at the time migrating upstream to spawn, became trapped in a flooded field in the Sacramento and Delevan national wildlife refuges. The fish grew weak and ill over several weeks in the warm stagnant water before being discovered. Biologists managed to rescue more than 300, said Killam, who was involved in the response effort. Another 300 fish were observed but not captured. Killam suggested those 600-plus salmon “were just a portion of the fish that were trapped in there.” Many, if not most, of the rescued fish likely died before they could spawn, he said. After the driest calendar year in state history and with cloudless skies stretching to the horizon, many of the egg-laden redds in the Sacramento River remain vulnerable. Moreover, the distinct latefall chinook run is now beginning to spawn in shallow waters that could potentially become exposed by further reductions in the river’s volume. Moore says the Bureau of Reclamation has the authority to lower the river level down to as little as 3,250 cubic feet per second—an action that he says will occur only if dry conditions persist. Killam and his team have recommended that the agency maintain current flow levels to support the surviving redds. “But if they decide to drop the flows again, we’ll lose a lot more fish,” he warned. Ω

Protesters target Target

A local man shows off his SodaStream purchase to irk demonstrators at Chico’s Target store. PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

Palestinian-rights activists say product is made on stolen land two dozen demonstrators gathered A20thbout outside the Chico Target store on East Street on Dec. 8 to protest the retailer’s

sale of SodaStream, a home-carbonation product they say is made on “illegal” Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Though the gathering was mostly without incident, protesters encountered some angry Target customers, and at one point police were summoned by store employees. The Chico Palestine Action Group has been holding regular demonstrations at the location every weekend since last June, according to organizer Emily Alma. Sunday’s turnout was particularly large as it was part of a “National Day of Action” organized by the Interfaith Boycott Coalition, a group composed of several nationwide, faith-based, pro-Palestinianrights groups including Jewish Voice for Peace and American Muslims for Palestine. “The Palestinians are terribly oppressed in many ways,” Alma said. “Their free passage is greatly controlled, their homes are demolished to make way for new settlements, and young boys who get angry and throw stones are regularly jailed, tortured and held without being charged.” Alma said that 80 percent of water in the disputed region—located on the west bank of the Jordan River—is used for Israeli settlements, while Palestinians are subjected to strict water rationing. She said she saw this firsthand during an October 2011 visit to an area where a lack of water had nearly destroyed an olive orchard. “So many Americans have bought the myth that the Israelis are the victims and the Palestinians are terrorists, so we’re trying to break that myth and let people know what’s

really happening,” she said. The protesters separated into small groups across several grass islands in the store’s parking lot in order to reach Target customers entering or exiting the store. They distributed literature with information about the Palestinian struggle and suggested customers ask Target to stop carrying the SodaStream carbonation device. Most customers cordially accepted a handout outlining the controversy and continued on their way. A few stopped to express their support for the activists’ efforts. A few others were obviously offended. As the demonstrators gathered for a photograph near the store’s entryway, a man carrying a SodaStream box stood in front of them. After a short confrontation with some of the protesters, he agreed to be interviewed but would not provide his name. “They convinced me to buy it today,” the man said, nodding toward the anti-SodaStream contingent. “I already have the product at home, but saw them and decided it was a good time to pick up a refill canister. “To me it, it’s a matter of property rights,” he continued, seemingly unaware of the irony

SIFT|ER Online versus brick-and-mortar shopping For the first time, a majority of Americans (53 percent) are “very or somewhat likely” to do some of their holiday shopping online, a Gallup poll finds. Since Gallup first began asking the question in 1998—when 10 percent of respondents said they intended to shop online—the percentage of Americans shopping for gifts in department and discount stores has been steadily declining, though 74 percent of respondents still also make purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. A separate Gallup poll revealed another shopping trend: Many are using physical stores as a “showroom” to check products out, but ultimately making their purchases online.

Source: www.gallup.com

in confronting people protesting Israeli seizure of Palestinian land. “I understand people have the right to protest, but not on the store’s property.” He spoke on the greater issue of IsraeliPalestinian relations. “It’s a difficult problem, because you have people who are extreme on both sides who just want to kill each other,” he said. Minutes after the man left, a Chico police officer arrived and met with a Target employee in front of the store. The officer informed the visibly angry worker that the protesters were within their rights, as long as they weren’t blocking traffic, harassing customers or “causing a scene.” Alma said past SodaStream protests at Target have resulted in two other police visits, with the most recent last summer. She said the police have agreed the protesters “were in compliance with legal requirements and were respectful of Target customers.” The employee who spoke to the police officer refused to give his name, saying that Target employees aren’t allowed to give out their personal information, and instead provided a number to the corporation’s mediarelations department in Minneapolis, Minn. As part of the nationwide effort,

SodaStream protesters delivered a petition with 8,000 signatures to Target headquarters in Minneapolis last week, asking that the retailer de-shelve the product. Similar demonstrations to the one in Chico took place in about 50 cities across the nation, according to several news reports. In an email, Molly Snyder, Target’s public-relations manager, acknowledged the company was aware of the protests. “At Target, we always hold ourselves, along with our suppliers, to the highest ethical standards,” Snyder wrote in an email. “We recognize there are differing views regarding SodaStream and we respect the personal choices our guests make when shopping with us.” —KEN SMITH kens@newsreview.com

NEWSLINES continued on page 10 December 12, 2013

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Tempers flare as supervisors consider pot-related items ppropriately, the Butte County AOroville Board of Supervisors meeting in on Tuesday, Dec. 10—the

last one of 2013—involved two of the most significant issues to come before the board this year. The supervisors considered the marijuana-cultivation ordinance passed earlier this year, as well as pending changes to the grading ordinance—both hot-button issues related to pot. The item regarding the cultivation ordinance prompted impassioned arguments from members of the public and a few snappy retorts from the supervisors themselves. In a 4-1 vote—with Supervisor Larry Wahl dissenting—the panel approved three amendments to the marijuana-cultivation ordinance. The first two require any marijuana garden to be on a property with an “occupied legal residence” and permitted plumbing and sewage systems. The third amendment made violating the cultivation ordinance more costly—$500 a day for the first violation and $1,000 a day for any subsequent violations. Previously, fines ranged from $25 to $100 a day for a first violation, $100 to $200 per day for second violations, and up to $500 per day for each additional violation thereafter. Though the amendments were minor—supervisors indicated that a broader discussion of possible changes to the ordinance will be held in January—public comments were passionate. Several of those who spoke blamed the supervisors directly for Butte County’s booming marijuana-cultivation industry and criticized the current ordinance’s lack of restrictions. “The supervisors aren’t listening,” one speaker said. “It’s not sinking in how bad the problem is out there. In the woods, it’s chaos!” “The supervisors are well aware of the destruction caused by these large legal grows,” said another. “The board continuously supports

and votes in favor of the pot trade. … It’s disgusting.” For his part, Wahl agreed that the board has “abdicated its responsibility to the people,” and that the amendments made on Tuesday served only to “kick the can down the road,” a comment that prompted a handful of cheers from the audience. Supervisor Steve Lambert’s response: “It’s always great to pander to the crowd.” Lambert maintained that, while many citizens attending the meeting were in favor of tighter restrictions, the majority of the county’s voters are not. He reminded the audience that the supervisors’ first attempt at crafting a marijuanacultivation ordinance was “very restrictive,” but was overturned by a public referendum. “It disappoints me when people come up and say we’re not trying to deal with this,” he said. Meanwhile, pending changes

to the county’s grading ordinance are largely in response to environmental damage caused by the grading activities of pot growers in the county’s eastern foothills. During the supervisors’ Sept. 24 meeting, Mike Crump and Tom Fossum of the Department of Public Works had explained how their staff, due to approval of the marijuana-cultivation ordinance, became inundated with both grading-permit requests and complaints of harmful substances—the rodenticides, insecticides and fertilizers used by some pot farmers— working their way into creeks and Lake Oroville through erosion caused by grading. Dealing with the surge of permit requests led Public Works staff to determine the grading ordinance was in need of improvement. Currently, a grading permit is required for any work involving the movement of more than 50 cubic yards

Butte County Supervisors Steve Lambert (left) and Larry Wahl were at odds regarding the county’s marijuanae w s & rduring e v i ethe w Dec. b u s10i n e s s u s e o n l y cultivationn ordinance supervisors’ meeting. designer ss issUe dATe 03.03.11 ACCT eXeC amb PHOTO BY HOWARD HARDEE FiLe nAMe lawofficesofbh030311r2 reV dATe new

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of dirt, while any project exceeding 1,000 cubic yards requires a discretionary permit, which must be approved by the Planning Commission. Many local contractors— some of whom spoke during the Sept. 24 meeting—consider the lower limit of 50 cubic yards too restrictive. In recent weeks, Public Works staff has been developing a code change based on grading ordinances adopted by neighboring counties. Under the recommendations considered by the supervisors during Tuesday’s meeting, the lower limit for projects requiring a grading permit would increase from 50 to 250 cubic yards, while the threshold for discretionary permits would remain at 1,000 cubic yards. Grading in four “special areas”—regulated flood plains, riparian areas, or anywhere with high potential for landslides or erosion—would also require a discretionary permit. Just prior to the supervisors’ vote on whether to authorize staff to proceed as outlined, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey spoke as a member of the public, pointing to the potential environmental harm of raising the lower limit of grading permits to 250 cubic yards—enough dirt to fill 50 dump trucks. Projects in which that much material is moved “can do a lot of damage,” Ramsey argued, “whether you’re a pot farmer, a contractor or a grape farmer.” Wahl then motioned to change the lower limit back to 50 cubic yards, a movement that passed—to groans of some contractors in the audience—by a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Bill Connelly dissenting. A final draft of the revisions to the ordinance will be presented early next year. —HOWARD HARDEE howardh@newsreview.com

Out of the cold Local activists work to provide warmth and safety for Chico’s homeless he Arctic cold snap sweeping the United Theadlines. States has been making international Closer to home, three homeless

residents in Santa Clara County without access to a shelter at night made the news after they died of hypothermia-related causes as a result of the bitter freeze. This is precisely the type of scenario Robert Trausch of the recently formed Chico Homeless Action Team (CHAT) has been working to avoid locally, where bone-chilling nighttime temperatures have dipped into the 20s for days in a row. Temperatures are slowly rising, but not by much, thus maintaining a potential life-or-death situation for those without a place to sleep out of the brutal cold. “People are actually dying [in other communities] and we have to address those issues,” Trausch said in a recent interview. “I want people to be dry, safe and warm at night.” Thus, Trausch and the nearly 20 other concerned Chicoans who form CHAT—including his wife, local attorney Leslie Johnson, and Dan Everhart, president of the Chico Peace and Justice Center’s board of directors—have combined forces with the CPJC to open the doors of the center every night at 8:30 p.m. since Dec. 7 to offer the homeless a warm, dry place to sleep while temperatures remain dangerously cold. “[M]any people are not able to use the Torres [Community] Shelter because of mental illness or drug or alcohol problems, or for various other reasons,” reads a Dec. 8 CHAT press release announcing the arrangements at the CPJC. “In past years, the armory at the fairgrounds has sometimes been used as a ‘warming shelter’ during unusually cold weather, but no such arrangements have been made as yet this winter.”

“I honor and appreciate what the

Torres Shelter does,” Trausch said, “but what we’re doing at this time is serving a different clientele, because of the freezing weather. It’s an emergency.” In addition to taking in the substanceaddicted and mentally ill, the CPJC is also Help out:

To volunteer to help staff the CPJC’s “warming shelter” at night, or to donate sleeping bags, tents and socks to the homeless, call Robert Trausch at 518-8509.

accepting homeless guests with dogs and cats. “Many of the homeless are disenfranchised from society and their family,” Trausch said, “but their pets become their family. We had one mentally ill guy last night who was taking care of his dog—he had gotten him all his shots—because that’s his family.” On the first night it opened to the homeless, the CPJC welcomed 12 guests, with that number climbing to 20 the following night, and 21 the night after that.

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In addition to facilitating the operation of the CPJC warming shelter, CHAT volunteers have also sought out the homeless at their camps and on the streets to offer an alternative to sleeping outside or—in the case of those who do not wish to sleep inside—provide them with sleeping bags, tents and socks. For his part, CPJC Director Chris MooreBackman said he is pleased with CHAT’s timely activism. “I join with so many other Chicoans in a feeling of deep gratitude for the community leaders who have launched the Chico Homeless Action Team,” he said in an email. “Their effort to make a safe and warm space available to some of our most vulnerable community members is a perfect model of the kind of work that is required of people of conscience in our society today. … “As an organization committed to building the beloved community, offering our support and the use of our space for this purpose is the least that the Chico Peace and Justice Center can do.”

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CN&R 11

THE PULSE MORE DOCTORS, PLEASE

One university in California has taken to offering full-ride scholarships to a handful of medical students in an attempt to address the state’s shortage of primary-care physicians. The UC Riverside School of Medicine is offering full rides to five students who agree to practice primary care—rather than entering a more lucrative specialty field—in the surrounding community for five years after graduation, according to California Healthline. Only 16 of California’s 58 counties have the number of primary-care physicians recommended by the federal government, while the Association of American Medical Colleges says 30 percent of California’s doctors are nearing retirement age. The physician shortage could become more pronounced as millions of state residents gain access to health care under the Affordable Care Act.

HEALTHLINES Dr. Scott Nichols of Enloe Behavioral Health and his wife, Sharon, in Durban, South Africa, during a recent trip that involved a cancer conference and a safari.

Psychiatrist on safari

PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. SCOTT NICHOLS

‘FAT AND HEALTHY’ MYTH BUSTED

Even when an individual is metabolically healthy, being obese increases risk of premature death and heart disease, a study finds. The study, a meta-analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that looked at eight studies involving a total of 61,386 subjects tracked for 10 years or longer, debunked the notion that a person can be “fat but fit,” according to the Los Angeles Times. In recent years, more short-term studies have suggested that conditions long linked to obesity—cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer—might be the product of metabolic dysfunction rather than obesity itself. The researchers found that as body-mass index rises, so does blood pressure, insulin resistance and waist circumference, while levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind) decrease. The study’s authors emphasized that, though obese and overweight subjects may not have reached the point defined as metabolic illness, weight gain appears to put them on that path.

GOP’S SCHOOLYARD TACTICS

California Republicans are under fire for an Internet page critics say is a brazen attempt to misinform Californians about the state’s healthinsurance exchange website, Covered California. Touted as an Affordable Care Act (ACA) “resource guide,” the GOP’s www.CoveringHealth CareCA.com website was launched in August prior to the Oct. 1 rollout of CoveredCA.com, the official website for the state’s exchange through the ACA, according to ABC News. The site emphasizes cost to taxpayers and the individual penalties to be levied against those who don’t purchase health insurance by the March 31 deadline. Ironically, the GOP website was launched using taxpayer dollars. Critics say the GOP site resembles the dozens of fake health-insurance sites that have popped up since the ACA was implemented; California Attorney General Kamala Harris shut down 10 such sites in November alone. Send your health-related news tips to Howard Hardee at howardh@newsreview.com.

12 CN&R December 12, 2013

Local physician shares lessons learned from recent cancer conference in Africa by

Evan Tuchinsky

In the United States, it’s easy to think about all the deficits we have in health care. … Being somewhere like Africa really makes it apparent how fortunate we are. –Dr. Scott Nichols

Dhe speaks, having recently returned to Chico from South Africa, where he particir. Scott Nichols knows of what

pated in a late-November conference hosted by the African Organization for Research & Training in Cancer (AORTIC). Nichols, medical director of Enloe Behavioral Health, is a psychiatrist who also practices psycho-oncology (aka cancer psychiatry) at the Enloe Regional Cancer Center. His mentor, Dr. Jimmie Holland of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, invited him to the AORTIC conference “Cancer in Africa: Bridging Science and Humanity.” He accepted and contributed his expertise during a daylong program titled “Treating the Whole Patient: Moving Psycho-Oncology Forward.” Including time for travel and a safari, Nichols and his wife, Sharon, spent two weeks in South Africa. “It was an amazing experience,” he said, one that left him with an enhanced perspective of the country and the African continent, as well as an appreciation of home. Americans may complain about the health-care system, but elsewhere, Nichols said, “it’s really on an entirely different scale.” Take Botswana, for example: a nation in southern Africa with a population of around 2 million that lacks even a single native-born doctor with training in cancer

care. Health officials there must recruit oncologists from China, India and Cuba who work rotations in which they face linguistic and cultural barriers. “In other countries,” Nichols said, “they don’t have any radiation oncologists or radiation-oncology facilities. One of the people we talked to said they don’t have regular access to morphine.” When it comes to cancer treatment, Africa has “huge gaps in infrastructure but some incredibly talented people working there.” Nichols has pledged to help. He and Sharon intend to work with specialists they met at the conference to develop a new group: the African Association for Psycho-Oncology. Nichols’ talk during the AORTIC

conference focused on delays in diagnosis and treatment, which is common among cancer patients in Africa. He said cancer carries a social stigma; many Africans associate cancer with HIV. As a result, patients may be shunned by their neigh-

bors, lose custody of their children or have their marriages crumble. Culture, then, plays a big role. “An American or European, when something starts to happen to them physically, would ask what’s happening and why,” Nichols explained. “What the Africans uncovered in their research was that the typical African response is ‘What’s happening and who—who is causing this?’ They, particularly in times of stress, will revert to their traditional belief systems.” If an African cancer patient believes his or her condition is a curse rather than an illness, that patient is likely to consult a spiritual leader or healer instead of a doctor, a choice that carries the potential to delay treatment, Nichols said. Nichols has studied instances in which Western medicine has been introduced to other cultures, and pinpointed a key factor: whether traditional healers were HEALTHLINES continued on page 15

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CN&R 13

The Highest Level of Care to Beat Cancer CanCer is a life-Changing and terrifying event for anyone who gets that diagnosis and for everyone who cares about them. Nearly every family has experience with cancer and according to a report by the President’s Cancer Panel, 41% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Fortunately, thanks to medical science and early detection, the vast majority of people with cancer survive the ordeal, according to the American Cancer Society’s 2013 report. Faced with a diagnosis of cancer, we naturally seek the best care possible. In Butte County, The accreditation we are extremely places the Feather River fortunate to Hospital Cancer Center in have the Feather the most elite echelon of River Hospital cancer treatment facilities Cancer Center, in the country accredited by the American College of Surgeons (ACOS). The accreditation places this Cancer Center in the most elite echelon of cancer treatment facilities in the country, and Feather River Hospital is the only hospital in Butte County to be accredited by the ACOS. To earn the accreditation, the hospital voluntarily committed to providing the

5974 Pentz rd 14 CN&R December 12, 2013

highest level of cancer care and regularly undergoes rigorous evaluations and reviews. In addition to the accreditation, patients of the Cancer Center have access to clinical trials, state-of-the-art technology, new treatment options and lifelong follow up. The Cancer Center recently upgraded their radiation features, with treatments that are shorter, more accurate, and provide patients with less treatments overall. This next generation machine has the ability to focus on a tumor in real time, which greatly lessens the damage to non-involved tissue. Feather River Hospital has long had an institutional focus on the holistic health and well being of its patients, and the oncologic specialists at the Cancer Center are dedicated to developing a treatment plan that is designed to meet their patient’s individual needs. They employ a multidisciplinary approach that integrates therapies to focus on medical, nutritional, physical, psychological, and spiritual needs, which research has shown to be the most effective treatment of cancer. From nutritional consultants to chaplain services, support groups and social services, the Cancer Center’s team is a diverse group of professionals that together care for the entire patient.

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HEALTHLINES continued from page 12

included or excluded from treatment. “The general thought at the conference was that we need to try to work together with traditional healers,” he said. “The stories and evidence that I brought from an outside perspective really supported that: that things generally go better when one tries to reinforce and support existing social structures rather than compete with them or discredit them.” One example he shared came from Afghanistan, where U.S. nurse-midwives taught prenatal care and delivery classes to religious leaders rather than to the expectant mothers and fathers. The imams then taught the classes in their communities. When the nurse-midwives checked back, they heard a common story. A husband would see his wife experiencing difficulties with the delivery. The husband’s father would believe the woman’s survival was up to divine providence, Nichols said: “If God wills, she will live; if He wills, she will die.” But since the imam’s classes had taught that complications in childbirth require medical attention, the husband would take his wife to a clinic, thereby saving the lives of both mother and baby. Nichols related similar

instances from other locations abroad, including a physician who went to South America in the 1960s and helped bridge a gap between Western doctors and local healers. In addition, Nichols explained the benefits in American hospitals of having chaplains available to tend to patients’ spiritual needs. “I think what came of that [discussion] was a chance to make ...

Get involved:

Dr. Scott Nichols says that for health-care professionals, entrepreneurs and philanthropists, “there are a lot of different opportunities to have really meaningful involvement in Africa with cancer care.” Visit www.aortic-africa.org to learn more about the African Organization for Research & Training in Cancer.

African oncologists more willing to include traditional healers in their discussions with patients, even train traditional healers to recognize signs of cancer and know who should be referred,” he said. “The worst thing you can do is [force] someone to make the choice: abandon my culture and spiritual heritage, or accept modern medical care. It works better when it’s both, and people don’t have to make that choice.” Nichols came away from the conference encouraged about potential ripple effects, even beyond the push for psychooncology. Among the attendees was Dr. Andreas Ullrich, a top official with the World Health Organization, with whom Nichols had several discussions. “I really got the indication that the things that were presented at this conference are going to modify World Health Organization strategy for controlling and treating cancer in Africa,” Nichols said. “That alone was a huge step forward.” Nichols and his wife plan on returning to Africa to continue their work with the African Association for Psycho-Oncology and attend the next AORTIC conference, which will be held in Morocco in 2015. Ω

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WEEKLY DOSE Cold front approaching Yeah, yeah, we know it’s cold out there. We don’t need a weatherperson to tell us that it’s been freezing around here lately. But what about the other “cold” outlook? The one that tips us to the cold and flu patterns in the U.S., and shows how sick people are in our area and in those surrounding ours? WebMD’s interactive Cold and Flu Map has your forecast. For example, for the week ending Nov. 30, Butte, Tehama and Glenn counties were at a “moderate” level of sickness, while Trinity was at “severe” and Plumas was at “mild.” Visit www.tinyurl.com/flucoldmap for the latest info.

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GREENWAYS Left: Julie Griffiths, Prestige Nursery supervisor, stands inside the frame of the nursery’s yet-tobe-completed second greenhouse.

‘HOT, SOUR AND BREATHLESS’

The world’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic at a faster rate than at any time in the last 300 million years, a new report reveals. The 26-page report issued by 540 scientists from around the world found that the combination of increased carbon in the water; increased CO2 in the atmosphere from fossilfuel burning; and reduced oxygen movement in oceans due to increasing water temperature are combining to “amplify each other,” said report co-author Ulf Riebesell, a biochemist at Germany’s GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research, quoted in an article at SFGate.com. Scientists, Riebesell noted, are increasingly referring to the future state of the world’s oceans as “hot, sour and breathless.” Such news bodes ill for species such as squid, which “can only live in waters at certain temperature, acidity and oxygen levels,” the article said.

Below: Prestige Landscape Services Nursery employee Autumn Darby pots annual-flower seedlings in the nursery’s greenhouse.

PINE BEETLE INVASION

The East Coast’s southern pine beetle is taking a page from the book of the West Coast’s mountain pine beetle in its voracious attacks on pine forests, helped along by global warming. Loggers in New Jersey have been busy of late felling pine trees in the famous Pinelands—or Pine Barrens—area of the state in an effort to control a spreading infestation of southern pine beetles that have already killed tens of thousands of acres of trees, according to The New York Times. In the past, the small bugs were kept in check by freezing winters that killed them off, but winters are no longer cold enough to do so; temperatures of approximately 8 degrees below zero are needed to kill most beetles, a low not experienced in the area since 1996. Normally, trees can fight off small numbers of pine beetles by pushing the burrowing bugs out with discharges of sap, but large infestations of the insects can overwhelm even very healthy trees. “It’s a tremendously serious issue,” said New Jersey state Sen. Bob Smith.

COLD STREAK A PASSING PHASE

In an example of natural short-term climate variability in the face of long-term global warming, this year’s daily record-low temperatures in the United States are poised to outnumber daily record highs for the first time in two decades. National Climatic Data Center statistics show that the U.S. had 9,932 daily record-low temperatures through Dec. 1, compared to 9,023 daily record highs, according to Climate Central. Last year at the same time, daily recordhigh temperatures outnumbered record lows by a ratio of approximately 5-to-1. Worldwide, though, this year is set to be among the top 10 warmest years on record. Send your eco-friendly news tips to Christine G.K. LaPado-Breglia at christinel@newsreview.com.

New growth Prestige Landscape Services Nursery plans expansion nine months after opening its doors to the public story and photos by

Christine G.K. LaPado-Breglia christinel@newsreview.com

“Wthat grows well in this area,” said Julie Griffiths. “We really pride oure really try and get stuff

selves on having things that really do well, so that when [customers] plant [them], they feel rewarded.” Griffiths is the supervisor of Prestige Landscape Services Nursery, right next door to Fair Street Recycling on Fair Street in south Chico. In March of this year, the business opened to the public as a retail nursery. Both Fair Street Recycling and Prestige Landscape Services—of which the nursery is part—are business divisions of the nonprofit Work Training Center, which provides services and employment to the local developmentally disabled community. For roughly 35 years, Prestige Landscape Services—which employs a sizeable number of Work Training Center clients— has offered landscaping to local businesses, such as Enloe Medical Center, and residential customers, using plants obtained from a

wholesale nursery in Oroville. In February 2003, the business started growing its own plants, and nine years later, the Prestige nursery came into official existence, though for use of Prestige’s landscaping business only. The nursery’s recent transformation into a retail business is something that Griffiths and Prestige Landscape Services production coordinator Richard Draper agree was an obvious evolution for the business. “It grew out of an extension of our landscape business wanting plant material that we grew ourselves,” said Draper, who joined Griffiths briefly in a recent interview at the nursery. “We started growing one- and five-gallon container stock to supply our landscaping clients with what we knew they were going to ask for. “When we became a nursery in FebruAbout the nursery:

Prestige Landscape Services Nursery is located at 2270 Fair St. Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Call Julie Griffiths at 624-6143 for information about the nursery and about Prestige’s landscaping services.

ary 2012, we started growing seedlings and annuals.” As Draper spoke, nursery employees and Work Training Center clients Autumn Darby and Maureen McDevitt were busy working inside the nursery greenhouse— which was warm inside, especially compared to the downright chilly weather outside—potting viola and primrose seedlings to be ready for early spring planting. “We are selling anything from annual color—which we grow ourselves—to perennials, some of which we grow from little plugs [seedlings],” offered Griffiths. Other perennials—plants and trees, such as crape myrtles, various evergreens, Japanese maples and Chinese pistachio trees— still come from the wholesale nursery in Oroville. All of the nursery’s retail plants are offered “at really competitive prices,” Griffiths said. The list of offerings runs the gamut, from Abelia, Agapanthus, Armeria and azaleas, to zinnias, with many others in between, such as Loropetalum—a genus of shrub in the witch-hazel family—and Nandina domestica, which goes by the GREENWAYS continued on page 18 December 12, 2013

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common names “heavenly bamboo” and “sacred bamboo.” The most successful plants for use in Butte County landscaping projects, in Griffiths’ opinion, are the Loropetalums and Nandina domestica; Rhaphiolepis, a genus of small trees and shrubs in the Rosaceae family; Spiraea, a “woody perennial” (as Griffiths described it) and another genus of plants in the Rosaceae family; crape myrtle trees and the many shrubs of the Berberis genus. While clearly enthused at the nursery’s current offerings, Griffiths’ eyes lit up when she talked of expanding the nursery’s stock. “We are going to try to get more native plants that grow better and are water-wise, too,” she said, adding that the nursery recently added another area of sprinklers in the stock container area, so “it’s easier to water” a larger number of plants. A second greenhouse—which currently exists as a Quonset-hutstyle metal frame only—is due to be completed “hopefully by spring or the beginning of summer,” Griffiths said. Also, Griffiths is “developing a seasonal list of plants, whether it’s color bowls or [special] plants for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day,” Draper said. “Eventually, we want to package our [made-on-site] potting mix for retail sale,” he added. “And, build a ‘garden shed’ where customers can pick up pots, indoor plants like African violets, and maybe a pair of garden gloves,” Griffiths chimed in.

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NATURE IN WINTER Bring your preschooler (ages 3 to 5) to the Chico Creek Nature Center (1968 E. Eighth St.) on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 11 a.m. to noon, for the center’s Wild for Winter Preschool Program, which includes a nature walk, a talk about what animals do during the winter, and a winterfocused craft-making activity. Cost: $12 per child (parents must accompany children). Call 891-4671 to register.

She brought the conversation back around to the landscaping part of Prestige, pointing out that the nursery is unique in that its retail customers can also hire Griffiths, Darby, McDevitt and nursery employee Larry Azevedo (also a Work Training Center client) to do small-scale landscaping jobs for residential customers, like “annual color changeouts”—periodic switchouts of annual, seasonal flowers. “We’re trying to specialize a little bit,” she said. “You know, there are a lot of nurseries in Chico, and to keep up with the Joneses, you have to have one or two things you do that are special, and one of ours is planting things for people. “There are some people who like their yard to look nice, but they don’t like to plant,” she said. Ω

UNCOMMON SENSE Keep your best friend warm Most people are aware of the dangers of heat to our four-legged companions, but cold weather can also be dangerous. The American Veterinary Medical Association warns that, even with built-in fur coats, pets are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia, and should be kept indoors on nights when temperatures dip below freezing. Existing health conditions, such as arthritis, can be exacerbated by the cold. Tolerance to cold differs based on pets’ body types, coat length and other factors, so pet owners should ask their vet about specific temperature limits. Many more tips are available at www.avma.org.

THE

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THE MAGIC OF POINSETTIAS AND OTHER HOLIDAY EXCELLENCE My favorite local nursery, the Plant Barn (406 Entler Ave., 345-3121), is having its annual holiday Sale-a-bration on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring “random sales,” food, live music from local musician Mark Wilpolt and friends, and more. In-the-know gardeners know how amazing Plant Barn’s plants (and artsy gifts) are, thanks to the efforts of nursery owner Denise Kelly and her very knowledgable and genial staff (which, during the holiday season, includes the charming Superelf). Actually, the word “magical” could easily be applied to the Plant Barn’s beautiful, lush grounds, greenhouses and gift shop, especially this time of year, when its lovely Poinsettia House is in full swing. I was at the nursery recently, to purchase vegetable and herb starts for my winter garden, and ended up spending time in the warm, cozy Poinsettia House, taking in the beauty of the flowers and the cute, rustic Christmas decorations on display. (Postcard freak that I am, I ended up purchasing a cool sparkly Christmas postcard made of galvanized steel that I picked up in the Poinsettia House). Go to www.theplantbarn.com to learn more.

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TEA FOR A GOOD CAUSE On the off chance that anyone actually needs a

“good” reason to drink tea and eat delicious food at the T. Tea Bar & Fusion Café (250 Vallombrosa Ave.), the popular eatery/teahouse has partnered with the GRUB Cooperative’s Education Program—responsible for hosting numerous workshops and other sustainability-focused activities—for the month of December, offering a percentage of sales to the worthy education program. To participate, present a special card when ordering; contact Stephanie at 354-1646 to request card.

BUILD A COLD FRAME The December 2013 page of my Gardening with Edibles

calendar—put out by master gardeners of Butte and Glenn counties—is staring at me from my office wall, right next to my computer, telling me about cold frames, those handy garden structures “that help you keep plants warm and safe until consistent garden weather arrives,” as Butte County master gardener Ruben Rivera put it. Cold frames, wrote Rivera, “are recommended for vegetables or fruit that are self-pollinated (like zucchini and cucumber), and for vegetables that are grown for their foliage or flower (like spinach, cilantro, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower).” He recommends using 1-by-1- or 2-by-2-inch lumber, or one-half- to three-quarter-inch PVC pipe, to make a frame that fits over your raised bed or garden row; attach frost cloth (available locally at Collier Hardware, among other places) over frame with cable ties. My hubby made me a redwood raised bed that functions as a cold frame (pictured) with the addition of old windows that cover the top of the box at night and when temperatures dip below freezing (the top of the box is built at an angle with a lip to hold The author’s cold frame in her backyard. windows from sliding PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID K. BREGLIA off, giving the appearance of a minigreenhouse). I currently have spinach and lettuce seedlings growing in it. Last winter, it successfully produced lots of strawberry spinach (yum!) and even some flowers.

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CN&R 19

Citing lack of law enforcement, a North State militia has formed an armed community watch. Have they gone too far?

“M

ilitia member fires shots while pursuing car-theft suspect,” reads a recent headline on Redding-based news station KRCR’s website. The story outlines a bizarre incident in Cottonwood this past October, when a member of the citizen-organized Cottonwood Community Watch and a commander in the Northern California State Militia pursued an alleged car thief in his bright-yellow Hummer, eventually firing “warning shots” into the ground in a residential neighborhood after the chase continued on foot.

The alleged car thief, described as a Hispanic male, escaped, and his pursuer, who holds a countyissued concealed-weapon permit, walked free after being detained for a short while at the scene. Coverage on KRCR and in the region’s daily paper, the Redding Record Searchlight, incited hundreds of comments, some defending the watch member’s actions, and others condemning him and his cohorts as unregulated, dangerous vigilantes. For some, the incident captured echoes of the Trayvon Martin shooting, in which self-appointed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman pursued, and eventually shot and killed, an unarmed black teenager last year in Florida. Martin’s death, and Zimmerman’s subsequent acquittal, sparked national debates on race relations, gun control and self-defense laws. More than anything, news accounts spurred more questions than they answered. Is Cottonwood—a rural ranching community of roughly 3,500 residents— really so crime-ridden, and underserved by official law enforcement, as to necessitate armed citizen patrols? And how does a militia—a paramilitary group often associated with right-wing extremism and anti-government activity—fit in? In short, what the hell is going on in Cottonwood? 20 CN&R December 12, 2013

d o o w n o t t Co

Cottonwood is halfway between

Red Bluff and Redding, with Cottonwood Creek marking the boundary between Shasta and Tehama counties, and the community falling under the former’s jurisdiction. Its main attractions are the Shasta Livestock Auction Yard and a two-block historic district consisting of Old West-style buildings, some dating back to the town’s 1848 founding, now home to a handful of boutiques and a saloon. Main Street is the town’s main artery, the median of which is decorated with rusting metal statues of cowboys and cattle—the plasmacut silhouettes of actual residents. Jim Haagenson, the militia and community-watch member cited in the news story, agreed to meet at the Cottonwood Barber Shop on Main Street in early November. As the shop’s owner, Woody Clendenen, is a lieutenant in the militia and active in the community watch, the building serves as the de facto headquarters of the separate-butoverlapping organizations (the watch was started by militia members about 18 months ago, but people needn’t be involved with both, the two men explained). The barber shop’s front door rarely stayed closed long as a cavalcade of characters—some customers, others on militia or watch business—passed through. A man dressed as a rodeo cowboy (a dis-

guise, he explained) reported some intelligence he’d gathered on a suspicious house; Clendenen congratulated a boy in the barber’s chair on receiving his first .22-caliber rifle; and a half-dozen militia members stopped by en route to the shooting range. Amber Rouse, a home-health-care nurse, said she’d chosen to get her son’s hair cut there to learn more about the watch and the militia, both of which she was interested in joining, her stated motives being a love of her country and the desire to learn to better protect herself and her young child.

Vigilant or vigilante? The silver-haired Haagenson is charismatic and quick to joke, and possesses a surprisingly easy-going demeanor for a retired parole officer and San Quentin prison guard. He is known to friends and brothers-in-arms alternately as “Captain” (his rank after 14 years of active and reserve Army duty), “Major” or “Commander” (militia rank and title), or just plain Jimmy. He explained he and his wife were returning home after dining out the evening of Oct. 14, and stopped to visit with Clendenen at a Main Street mini-mart around 8:30 p.m. Clendenen informed Haagenson that a Toyota 4Runner reported to the watch as stolen might’ve just driven past.

“I decided I’d follow and see if he behaves like a car thief, and he did,” Haagenson said, saying three passengers bailed from the vehicle and scattered as soon as he began tailing it. With his wife riding shotgun and on the phone with 9-1-1, Haagenson followed the vehicle west down Gas Point Road to the town’s pastoral outskirts. During a 10-minute chase, he said the alleged thief reached speeds of “at least 95,” turned his lights off and on repeatedly, and drove erratically. Haagenson said he never matched speeds, his slower pace causing him to lose sight of the vehicle at times. Haagenson followed the 4Runner as it turned onto Frances Street. He said the driver jumped or fell from of the vehicle, possibly running himself over. Sans driver, the 4Runner crashed into a resident’s fence, which the alleged thief then jumped over before fleeing. As Haagenson parked his Hummer and followed on foot, he said the man—whom he described as being about 5 feet 8 inches tall and dressed in dark clothing—turned toward him. “My Hummer is sitting right behind me and the lights are shining toward him, and he’s walking back toward the light, and I’m yelling, ‘Stop, don’t move! Stop, don’t move!” Haagenson said. Haagenson drew his Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic:

BY KEN SMITH

kens@newsreview.com

“Many times [as an officer], I’ve had to draw my gun on bad guys, and the one universal thing is they always stopped when they got close enough to see the gun, so I never had to shoot anybody,” he said. “But this guy keeps coming toward me and I’m thinking—fast, because I don’t want to shoot the guy—maybe he doesn’t see me because of the Hummer’s lights and he’s dazed. “Because I don’t have to work for anybody else or conform to any type of departmental policies, I did something that normally I wouldn’t have been allowed to do, which is fire warning shots. I had a lawn next to me, so I fired several rounds into the ground because there was no risk factor of ricochet likely.” The man “skedaddled into the darkness,” and Haagenson said it took deputies another 10 minutes to arrive, at which time they took his gun and detained him in a cruiser for

More about militias:

The California State Militia maintains a website at cal-militia.com; the Northern California State Militia can be found on Facebook. The Modern Militia Movement (modernmilitiamovement.com) is a social network where members can connect with local groups and find trainings and meet-ups. The Federal Bureau of Investigation maintains a page at its site (www.fbi.gov) regarding “militia extremists.”

s t s i l a n o i t u t i t s n o c

about an hour. He said they never asked for his concealed-carry permit or driver’s license, but likely knew him by reputation. When he was released, officers returned his gun, and the damaged 4Runner was towed away. Haagenson and Clendenen were critical of law enforcement’s followthrough: “If the sheriffs had let us [the Cottonwood Community Watch] do the search through the yards, we would’ve had 20 guys doing a much more thorough job than the one deputy and his dog,” Clendenen said. Both men claim response to the incident has been mostly positive— at least in Cottonwood. “We don’t care what anyone outside of Cottonwood thinks,” Clendenen said. “We don’t have a police

Militia and community-watch leader Jim Haagenson was involved in a high-profile pursuit and shooting incident in Cottonwood in October. PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

Right: Barber and Cottonwood Community Watch member Woody Clendenen wrestled a shoplifter to the ground and held him for 25 minutes until police arrived. PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

department. It’s easy when you have a police force to say, ‘Hey, those guys should just let somebody else handle it.’ But we had 20 stolen vehicles in 30 days in this little town, and they’re just running around stealing whatever they want, and people are tired of it. They’re crawling in windows while people are sleeping. “We’re a small, Christian, country town and we have to take care of our neighbors for ourselves.” “MILITIA” continued on page 22 December 12, 2013

CN&R 21

“MILITIA” continued from page 21 Active members of the Northern California State Militia stand in formation, awaiting the day’s orders.

(from the Chico-Oroville area) also attended the FTX. In total, there were about 50 active members and PHOTO BY MELANIE MACTAVISH 80-plus recruits. Some brought families, adding a number of rambunctheir hips, and many carrying tious children, dogs and cellphoneassault rifles. camera-wielding spouses to the Hamelberg’s hiking group had makeshift war-camp’s population. inadvertently stumbled upon a Haagenson estimated his Cottontwo-day quarterly field-training wood division, formed in 2009, has exercise, or FTX, of the Northern more than 50 active members. He California State Militia’s Cotton- estimated there are about 800 active wood Group. The militia is a members in the California State subdivision of the California Militia, and an equal amount who State Militia, whose website at are semiactive or in the recruiting Cal-Militia.com explains that mili- process. These numbers distinguish tias are not just protected, but prethe Cottonwood Group as an excepscribed by the Second Amendment, tionally large subset of one of the and outlines the group’s mission of country’s largest militias. upholding and enforcing the laws of Active members wore militia, the U.S. Constitution. Haagenson division and name patches on their and Clendenen provided additional fatigues, some using real last details, crediting their division’s names, others nicknames like policy of openness as key to its size “Black Bart” and “O-POS.” The and success. patches and uniforms comply with state, national and international Some residents of Frances Street— but I don’t want to see them laws regarding militias. Without become vigilantes.” a short row of houses and mobile them, some militia exercises—for Bosenko disagrees that Cottonhomes on half-acre lots near North example, practicing ambushes— wood is as crime-ridden as ClendeCottonwood Elementary School— would be considered guerrilla warare critical both of the shooting and nen painted it; he said property fare, and therefore illegal. crimes and burglaries are a probof an armed watch. A few militia members were lem, and confirmed there has been a “I have some misgivings,” said reticent, but many were willing to recent rise in vehicle thefts, but said Patrick Martinez Sr., on whose share why they joined. Pvt. Tristan criminal activity there is “no differproperty Haagenson discharged his Overgaard, 32, of the Sacramento ent than any other small Northern weapon. “They have guns, and if Platoon, said he joined in June they catch you, I don’t think they are California town.” after educating himself about the He also agreed, however, that his going to stop and say anything; I Second Amendment. He also said department is woefully underthink they are going to shoot you.” he wants to help others in times of “The idea of a community watch staffed, especially following severe emergency, as he does in the “norbudget cuts in 2009. He said the is not a bad idea, but I don’t really mal world” as a caregiver to peoRedding Basin—a 3,700-squarecare for the incident that happened ple with disabilities. mile area from Cottonwood to Dunhere, because there was gunfire,” Rouse, the nurse from the barsmuir, and Shingletown to Platianother neighbor said. “The bad ber shop, was also there. In just thing about gunfire is, once you fire na—is generally staffed by four ontwo weeks, she’d transitioned from those bullets, you don’t know where duty deputies. The nearest sheriff curious civilian to full-blown substation to Cottonwood is in they’ll go.” recruit, dressed head-to-toe in Amber Rouse (left) and D’Ann Moseley calls to 50 people, who respond if south Redding, and the duty of pose in front of a sick-bay tent at a recent Shasta County Sheriff Tom camo, save for bright-orange letterthey are available. They run active Bosenko also expressed concerns. In patrolling from Anderson to Cotton- patrols, mostly at night, sometimes weekend-long militia training exercise ing across her chest reading “Girls outside of Red Bluff. wood—roughly 20 miles apart— a recent phone interview, Bosenko With Guns.” At her side, she carof two vehicles loaded with three or PHOTO BY MELANIE MACTAVISH said the shooting incident, as well as falls on a single officer. ried a Smith & Wesson .357 Magfour men each. Clendenen estimates “Response times can vary from other reports of community-watch num, the revolver’s enormity half of the members have conIn addition to being prepared in members following, stopping, ques- short to long depending on where accentuated by her slight frame. cealed-carry permits, and some times of disaster and foreign invationing and detaining “law-abiding” that officer is, because he might be A 13-year-old said he was the carry handguns or pepper spray. providing backup for another officer sion, most modern militias—the citizens, are part of an ongoing second-youngest active member in some distance away,” Bosenko said. Northern California division includ- camp that day; a 12-year-old was investigation. “After the investigaClendenen said law-enforcement concerned with threats tion is concluded, we’ll have the disalso present. D’Ann Moseley, a Ambush at Paynes Creek ed—are officials disavow the watch pubfrom oppressive government. trict attorney review it for criminal 75-year-old woman with the Modoc When Tricia Hamelberg, a biololicly, but are supportive in private “The thing the founders feared charges,” he said. group, boasted she’d just completed gist with the California Department most—that nobody likes talking meetings. Bosenko confirmed he’s Bosenko also said the 4Runner a 2-mile morning navigation course was never reported stolen to official met with watch members, including of Fish and Wildlife, volunteered to about—was tyranny of governand said she and her husband, Dan, lead a Sierra Club hike, she expect- ment,” Clendenen explained. “A law enforcement, stating “there was Haagenson, but said he conveyed joined because, “The world is going ed the morning of Sunday, Nov. 17, militia’s duty is to help with all the same cautions and concerns to a question of ownership in the to hell in a handbasket.” Moseley is would be good time to peacefully them in person. those other things, but it’s also one whole matter.” a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, enjoy autumn colors at Paynes “We don’t think we’re cops, or more check and balance against “It concerns me,” Bosenko though many militia members have Creek Recreation Area, located on want to be,” countered Clendenen, oppressive government. If every cit- no formal military experience. responded when asked about the who participated in two of the half- Bureau of Land Management prop- izen is armed, it’s kind of difficult Cottonwood Watch. “You always Several in the camp were upset erty east of Red Bluff. Instead, she dozen citizen’s arrests the watch for the government to come step on over a visit the previous night from want people to be involved, like boasts. “Ninety percent of what we arrived at the Perry Riffle trailyou too hard.” Neighborhood Watch, to be eyes a sheriff’s deputy and a BLM agent head—her planned meeting spot— Members of the Northern Caliand ears for law enforcement, but it do is eyes-and-ears stuff.” who gave them a citation carrying a to find an encampment of more Of the watch’s organization, fornia State Militia’s Sacramento appears that they’re maybe attempt$250 fine for not having a use perthan 100 camouflaged men and Clendenen further explained they and Redding platoons, Modoc ing to take the law more into their mit for a group of more than 20. women, most armed with pistols at Detachment and Stony Creek Group They said the citation infringed on own hands. It’s good to be vigilant, have a dispatch number that sends 22 CN&R December 12, 2013

their right to assemble, and expressed suspicions that their group was unduly targeted.

Interviews were cut short as the

militia was called to formation, presided over by the two present ranking officers, Haagenson and Capt. Roy “Pete” Peters, a lawyer and former Shasta County supervisor who commands the Redding Platoon. At the assembly, a collection was started to pay the permit fine, and barber Clendenen—now in his role as militia lieutenant—handed out promotions. Members advance through three levels of skill sets, with accompanying ranks from private to sergeant. Skills include knowledge of the Constitution, weapons safety, hand-to-hand combat and first aid. Higher ranks are awarded on merit, with officers voting on promotions. The militia also received the day’s marching orders—actives would practice strategically advancing on a set location, and recruits would hike 2 miles and attend a navigation class. After an officer warned the group to be wary of spooking horses and their riders, hiker Hamelberg climbed on the back of a pickup truck to announce the militia would also be sharing the trails with the Sierra Club. Though the day’s training didn’t

Biologist Tricia Hamelberg was shocked to find a militia encamped at the trailhead where she’d planned a morning hike. PHOTO BY MELANIE MACTAVISH

include live fire, Hamelberg said she still felt “shell-shocked” a week after the experience. “We all had a nice hike, but there was a lot of concern in the group that a militia, or any group that big, was out there kind of messing it up for everyone,” Hamelberg said. “Everybody knows if you’re having a big group on public land you need a public-use permit. “People also expressed concerns that there were assault rifles in a recreation area,” she continued, acknowledging that dozens of hunters attended an advertised pheasant shoot near Perry Riffle and several solo turkey hunters stalked nearby Paynes Creek that day. “Hunters use the area, but they carry shotguns to kill ducks and birds, and I’m confident they have proper safety training. Assault rifles are on the whole other end of the firearms spectrum, and that many people carrying that many assault rifles was just frightening.”

In early November, Haagenson met two agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Sacramento office regarding the militia. He said the men were cordial, well-informed

about his group, and didn’t seem to consider it a threat. Gina Swankie, a Sacramentobased FBI public-affairs specialist, said it’s against bureau policy to confirm contacts made by agents. She was unable to find an agent qualified and cleared to speak about militias as of press time, but provided a link to a September 2011 communique on the FBI’s website titled “Domestic Terrorism: Focus on Militia Extremism.” The article is part of a series that also spotlights eco-terrorists and animal-rights extremists; it presents “militia extremists” in a very negative light, with no reference to more moderate groups. It begins with an account of a 2010 plot in which nine Michigan militia members planned to kill a law-enforcement officer, then bomb the funeral procession, the whole scheme meant to “spark an uprising against the government.” It further states that extremists “stockpile illegal weapons” and “subscribe to various conspiracy theories regarding government.” Haagenson said the FBI’s main concern was that the local militia could be a beacon for what he called “lone-wolf weirdos,” and requested he report any questionable characters. Haagenson said he recalled only two—one man who couldn’t contain his racist rhetoric and another who was far too eager for explosives training (Haagenson said racism is not tolerated in any California State Militia outfit, and his group doesn’t do bombs). Both were asked to leave the group. If Haagenson is concerned with scrutiny from the FBI, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, or elsewhere, he doesn’t show it. He stands by his actions, as well as those of the militia and the community watch, and said interest in both is booming, with more new faces at every function. The recent Paynes Creek FTX alone attracted 47 fresh militia recruits. This growth follows national trends: According to a March 2012 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 321 militias and 1,360 “radical, antigovernment ‘patriot’” groups active in the U.S. today. The SPLC says this number has grown by 813 percent since President Obama’s 2008 election. And, though the Cottonwood Community Watch’s tactics have garnered headlines and ongoing legal scrutiny, the town’s situation is far from unique as communities nationwide struggle to deal with diminishing public services. Whatever is happening, it’s not isolated to Cottonwood. Ω

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December 12, 2013

CN&R 23

Shop Local Give the perfect gift from= 2013 Best Of Chico’s Day Spa Sweetwater Gift Cards - Beautifully Boxed and Wrapped. Or Sweetwater’s Customer Favorite: The Holiday Spa Package for only $129! Includes Signature spa facial Relaxation massage - Spa pedicure. Purchase now through December 31.

SwEETwaTER daY Spa

1031 Village Lane • Chico (530) 894–7722 • sweetwaterchico.com

Give the gift of fun! Donkey Otey, a miniature donkey, or Cisco, a miniature horse, will attend your birthday party, wedding or other celebration. Cart rides for you and your friends add to the fun. Use us in your holiday photos! This non-profit organization is supported by donations for its educational programs and projects. Children become motivated when a mini-donkey is part of their lesson. Gift Certificates available.

lITTlE nEIgHS, lITTlE BRaYS

(530) 828–0171 (530) 345–7825 www.littleneighslittlebrays.com friesjnt@aol.com

Gift Guide

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice We have made it easy here at Three Sixty Ecotique to add a little spice to your holiday look, and to find a thoughtful gift for that special someone! At Three Sixty Ecotique you are sure to find a unique gift that you can feel good about. Whether it be a vintage coat, a locally made piece of jewelry, or a pair of knee high socks made from recycled yarn.

THREE SIXTY ECOTIQUE

511 Main Street • Chico (530) 342–8752 threesixtyecotique.com Tues-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 12-5pm

Tasty Gift Ideas Voted Chico’s Best Asian Cuisine, Best Take-Out and Oroville’s Best Restaurant, Tong Fong Low offers a delicious dining experience. Stuff your loved ones holiday stockings with Gift Certificates for this popular, locally owned and operated restaurant. Purchase $100 and receive an extra $10 FREE. Offer valid during the holidays only. Tong Fong Low wishes everyone good health and happy dining! Catering available.

TOng fOng lOw

2075 East 20th St, Suite 100 • Chico (530) 898–1388 2051 Robinson Ave • Oroville (530) 533–1488

Be Safe – Not Sorry! SteriPEN Ultra In just 45 seconds, your water is safe to drink. Now you’re free to hike and travel wherever you want, without the need to carry or store your own water. SteriPEN is proven to be safe and effective, eliminating over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa that cause water-borne illness. SteriPEN has earned the Water Quality Association’s Gold Seal, certifying its effectiveness.

MOUnTaIn SpORTS

176 E. Third St. • Downtown Chico (530) 345–5011 • Open Daily www.ChicoMountainSports.com www.facebook.com/chicomountainsports

CN&R’s Gift Guide — A speCiAl AdveRtisiNG seCtioN 24 CN&R December 12, 2013

Travel to Tuscany with Mooney Farms The beautiful Tuscan style company store is open Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm. Every Wednesday during the holiday season, enjoy samples of Bella Sun Luci Italian favorites including their award-winning Bella Sun Luci Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sun Dried Tomato line. Gift baskets are available to purchase or create your own unique design. Shipping is available.

moonEy FArms

Dinner for Two

1220 Fortress Street • Chico 95973 (530) 889–2661 www.MooneyFarms.com Holiday hours Mon-Fri 10am to 4pm

Gift cards and Our New Clubhouse! Our gift cards make a perfect stocking stuffer, plus they can even be used in the new Round Table Clubhouse on Pillsbury, where there is something for everyone! Of course, there’s our world-famous pizza and salad bar, more beers on tap including a wide selection of craft beers, our expanded menu with burgers, shakes & blended cocktails, new appetizers, a bigger game room for the kids with ticket redemption for prizes and big-screen HDTVs to watch your favorite team!

round tAblE pizzA

Crystal Candles Add some sparkle to your table with a custom crystal candle! These 6-inch, vanillascented, flameless candles can be adorned with beautiful crystals in any design you want. Choose one of many designs or make your own, then set the timer for 4 or 6 hours and enjoy the soft light and pleasant scent without the drips or mess. Perfect for a personalized holiday gift. Batteries included.

Andy’s EmbroidEry

820 Wall St • Chico • (530) 893–3316 www.andysembroidery.com

Enjoy a True Chico Tradition Shubert’s Homemade Ice Cream & Candy has been a Chico tradition for over 75 years! Homemade boxed chocolates, peanut brittle, English toffee and Divinity are just a few treats our families have come to look forward to during the holidays. Pre-order ice-cream pies now! The perfect holiday dessert! Don’t forget your Shubert’s Mints this season – no holiday celebration would be complete without them!

shubErt’s icE crEAm & cAndy

178 E. Seventh St Chico (530) 342–7163 www.shuberts.com

www.RoundTablePizza.com Chico • Gridley • Orland • Oroville Paradise • Red Bluff • Willows

VINTAGE SELTZER BOTTLES Hot Holiday Dresses Anika Burke Eclectic Boutique enjoys providing Chico with the essence of California’s casual lifestyle. This ever– popular shop is chock-full of modern and classy women’s & men’s clothing and accessories. Dress with ease and rock every piece you wear! This week’s special offer: Holiday Dresses starting at just $29.95.

AnikA burkE EclEctic boutiquE

Brighten up his holiday spirits with the gift of these beautifully colored vintage seltzer bottles. These original Czechoslovakian bottles are just a sample of what you’ll find for that favorite man of your life. Retro is in, and antique treasures jump from every shelf. War memorabilia, clothing, Playboy art, trains, boats, jewelry, and much, much more. Chico Antique Center has over 9,000 sq. ft. of space that over 20 vendors fill with all sorts of nicknacks and paddywacks. You’ll get lost in time searching every room for just that right gift. You’re sure to find something from yesteryear that family, friends, and coworkers will love when they open their holiday gift from you. Take your time. There’s lots to see.

chico AntiquE cEntEr

1900 Park Avenue • (530) 893–5536

211 Main St • Chico (530) 918–8850 www.AnikaBurke.com

CN&R’s Gift Guide — A speCiAl AdveRtisiNG seCtioN December 12, 2013

CN&R 25

Shop Local

Gift Guide

Heat Up the Holidays

Local Deliciousness Llano Seco Rancho is a historic California Rancho in its sixth generation of responsible land and animal stewardship. Our organic pork and beef and heirloom bean products are for sale at Chico Natural Foods Co-op, S&S Produce, and the Chico Certified Farmers’ Market (Sat mornings). Also enjoy them at Grana, Bacio Catering, Red Tavern, The Kitchen Table, Winchester Goose, Sierra Nevada Restaurant, and Green Paradise Cafe.

llano seCo

www.llanoseco.com

Chico’s Own Locally Grown Wines. The Perfect Holiday Gift. Bertagna Son Kissed Vineyards grows only the highest-quality, organic grapes. Meticulous farming in the field and attention to detail in the winery produce a superior quality product. Find our wines at Chico Natural Foods, S&S Produce, Chico Costco, Raley’s Safeway, BevMo, Maisie Jane’s, J&J Cellars, The Olive Pitt, Wagon Wheel Market, Tops Market and SaveMart, to list a few. Please see our website for a complete listing. Our tasting room is open seasonally the first weekend of the month from April – October.

Give the gift of warmth this winter with a portable space heater that utilizes the latest in infrared heat technology. This unit heats up to 1,000 square feet and provides a safe, convenient, clean and economical way to distribute heat throughout your home or business. Save energy while staying comfortable for as low as $199.99. At Cathy’s you’ll find more than just vacuums and sewing machines. You’ll find great gifts and stocking stuffers for the home, or pick up a gift certificate and let them choose the perfect gift.

Cathy’s sew & VaC

2418 Cohasset Road • Chico (530) 895–8050 www.cathyssewandvac.com

Prodeco Storm 500 $1350 Up to 30 miles per charge. Up to 20 mph. Fold able frame for easy storage & transportation. Throttle or 8 speed pedal power. Designed for on road or off road use. Electric bikes are changing the way people move. The new hybrid electric bikes are stylish, affordable, functional, eco-friendly, and most of all, fun. No licensing fee or DMV registration fees. Come in today for a test ride.

Red Mountain GReen CyCle 455 20th St. (20th & Mulberry) Chico (530) 899–7270 redmountaingreencycle.com

BeRtaGna son kissed VineyaRds

3363 Hegan Lane • Chico • (530) 343–8014 www.BertagnaWine.com

Flavorful Holiday Gifts Want to share 5th Street Steakhouse with a friend or family member? Gift cards make it simple. Great for the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and com5th street pany parties. 5th Street Steakhouse food tastes great on any occasion!

SteakhousE

5th stReet steakhouse

Gift Card

345 W. Fifth St. • Chico (530) 891–6328 5thstreetsteakhouse.com

California Sunshine in a Bottle Share the rich, golden elegance of the AWARD WINNING Butte View olive oils. Pure, light and delicate – experience the wonderful aromas and distinctive accents that make each handcrafted oil truly unique and excellent. 250ml/500ml. Available in Chico at Maisie Jane’s, Made in Chico, S&S Produce; in Oroville at Collins & Denny Market & Wagon Wheel Market; and in Paradise at Noble Orchard.

Butte View oliVe CoMpany

2950 Louis Ave. • Oroville, CA (530) 534–8320 • www.butteview.com

CN&R’s Gift Guide — A speCiAl AdveRtisiNG seCtioN 26 CN&R December 12, 2013

Available at Kusel’s Big Store!

Bacio Gift Cards!

Great gifts for guys this holiday season! That hard-working man in your life or the guy on your list that’s tough to buy for, we can help you find the perfect gift he deserves.

Give the gift of a lunch or dinner from Chico’s Best Take- Out! Perfect for hot soup on a cold day, “Date Night” at home or a special birthday lunch. Their reloadable gift cards are a welcome gift for all of your smart foodie friends, new parents, busy families and anyone you know who loves real food. EAT RIGHT NOW!

KUsEl’s BIG sTORE

1955 Montgomery St Historic Downtown Oroville Monday - Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 11-4 Facebook.com/kuselsbigstore (530) 693–4030 Kuselsbigstore.com

BACIO CATERING & CARRY-OUT

1903 Park Ave • Chico (530) 345–7787 • www.baciocatering.com

Holiday Gifts & Decor to Treasure! Christian & Johnson has some of the most beautiful poinsettia plants we have ever seen! From small and sweet to grand and gorgeous, we have it covered! Gifts, Decor, Flowers, Plants, Complimentary Wrapping... let Christian & Johnson help make your gift-giving beautiful. Since 1907, C&J has been making Holidays bright in Chico.

ChRIsTIAN & JOhNsON

250 Vallombrosa • Chico (530) 891-1881 www.christianandjohnson.com

Creative Cuisine Located in the Hotel Diamond, Johnnie’s Restaurant is known for creating the most popular and creative cuisine in Northern California. Serving breakfast daily from 7 to 11 am. Serving brunch every Saturday & Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm. Serving lounge menu 11 am to 9 pm Sunday through Wednesday. Lunch and dinner available seven days week in the lounge. Dining room is open from 5 pm to close Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Johnnie’s lounge features popular local live music and only the finest wines, spirits and small–plate cuisine. Re st au ra nt & Lo un ge Johnnie’s is the perfect place to unwind after a hard day’s work, or just relax with friends. Happy hour daily 2 to 6 pm.

JOhNNIE’s

220 W. Fourth St. • Chico (530) 895–1515

gift card

Boutique shopping in Chico Mall has never been like this! Come to Katie’s Corner II for fine ladies clothing, fashion accessories and gifts. Also, browse our decorative accents for the home and our one-of-a-kind vintage and antique pieces for entertaining and hosting afternoon tea. Katie’s clothing selections are unique and appeal to fashion conscious women with discriminating tastes. Interwoven among the clothing are beautiful displays of unusual home accents, and vintage and antique pieces collected from around the world!

KATIE’s CORNER II

Inside Chico Mall, next to Sears Chico • (530) 892–2228

High Denomination Collector Bills Wondering what to give your favorite coin and currency collector? The perfect gift for the person who has almost everything. Last printed in 1934 these $500 and $1000 bills are sure to get a reaction from everyone who has not seen one in the last 79 years! Priced at $925 and $1850 respectively.

ChICO COIN & JEwElRY

1414 Park Ave. Suite 108 • Chico (530) 894–5436

CN&R’s Gift Guide — A speCiAl AdveRtisiNG seCtioN December 12, 2013

CN&R 27

Shop Local Chinese Zodiac Necklaces A rotating cycle of twelve animal signs including; the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, are used as a method for naming the years in traditional China. This is known as the Chinese zodiac. These signs provide information about a person’s character, talents and love matches. Stop in to find out which animal sign you are!

House of Rice oRiental impoRts & Gifts

338 Broadway • Chico (530) 893–1794

Nursery, Gifts and Garden Transform dreary winter rains into a soothing, naturally powered water-feature with our lovely copper coated Rain Chains. Crafted to attach to your rain spout, water will cascade from flower cup to flower cup, bringing the trickling sound of a little stream into your yard. Inspire the harmony of nature with one of many plant and garden-themed gifts from Magnolia Gift and Garden!

maGnolia Gift and GaRden

1367 East Ave. • Chico • (530) 894–5410 MagnoliaGardening.com Open Mon-Sat 10-5 • Sunday 10-3

Lunatic Fringe Belly Dance Essentials & Gypsy Street Wear Lunatic Fringe Belly Dance Essentials and Gypsy Street Wear has been serving the greater San Francisco Bay Area since the turn of the century, and has now relocated to Chico! Lunatic Fringe offers unique clothing, accessories, jewelry, and gifts for the extraordinary woman. We’re much more than a belly dance store.

lunatic fRinGe belly dance essentials & Gypsy stReet weaR

163 E. Third St • Downtown Chico (530) 858–0895 Open Mon-Fri 10:30-6, Saturdays 9-6 Now open Sundays till Dec 25 www.facebook.com/pages/Lunatic-Fringe-BellyDance-Essentials

Gift Guide

Help Your Loved Ones Perform Their Best The business name alone is a testament to Built for Bodywork’s philosophy about massage. Simply put, the human body was designed to be massaged regularly, not just when there is pain or for pampering. Whether sports massage, deep tissue massage, or relaxing Swedish massage, the therapists at Built for Bodywork are specifically trained to perform this sports m essential work. Consider giving assage / deep tiss your loved ones a gift card this ue holiday season to help them perform their best!

BUILT FO BODYW R ORK

built foR bodywoRk

1166 Esplanade #2 • Chico • (530) 924–0298 facebook.com/chicobodywork

20% Off Accessories Now through Dec. 24 get 20% off accessories including: lighting, rugs, art, mirrors, wall décor, floral, candles, wall partitions, coat racks, pillows, throws, table-top décor, runners, ottomans, and Christmas items. Esplanade Furniture is Chico’s oldest furniture store. In addition to name-brand furniture you’ll find an amazing array of accessories. Stop in today to browse the store! Find us on Facebook.

esplanade fuRnituRe

1750 Esplanade • (530) 891–4788 www.esplanade-furniture.com

Kühl Swindler Shirt With its hidden security pocket, the Kühl Swindler Shirt is great for travel. You never know when you’ll need to do some fast talking. Looking good is half the story. Take the Swindler along and make it better than you remember. $60. Besides carrying the finest cold-weather clothing from the best in name-brand wear you’ll also find a plethora of stocking stuffers for everyone in the family. From gloves to yoga wear. From bike accessories to disc golf. From hand warmers to sport watches. Stop by today and check out the many gifts under $20. Shop Chico Sports LTD and keep your dollars local. And remember at Sports LTD you’ll find “Only the Good Stuff”!

cHico spoRts ltd

698 Mangrove Ave. • Chico • Safeway Shopping Center (530) 894–1110

CN&R’s Gift Guide — A speCiAl AdveRtisiNG seCtioN 28 CN&R December 12, 2013

IN THE MIX

CHICO 357 EAST PARK AVE. 530-342-3589

Someone New

OROVILLE 2013 LINCOLN BLVD. 530-534-6556

Chanticleer Chanticleer Records Named after the “clear singing rooster” in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, San Francisco-based choral ensemble Chanticleer—in its 36th year—adds a new album to its 40-album-plus discography: Someone New. Chanticleer— dubbed “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker magazine, and known for its masterful interpretation of Renaissance music—gets into non-Renaissance territory (as the prolific group sometimes likes to do) on this CD, delving into the musical depths of rock and pop-music gems such as Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” Tom Waits’ “Temptation,” BelgianAustralian musician Gotye’s “I Feel Better” and Peter Gabriel’s “Washing of the Water.” Chanticleer’s thoughtful, musically impeccable handling of each of the 13 tracks on this album is stunning. “I Feel Better,” for one, is transformed from a bouncy, discotheque-worthy number to an exhilarating, gospel-like piece in the hands of this 12-piece all-male choir. Basso profondo Eric Alatorre shines on the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire.” Jazz tunes, too, get the Chanticleer treatment: Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Chega de Saudade” is milked for every drop of beauty it contains, and Dave Brubeck’s “Strange Meadow Lark” (“All alone, meadowlark/ Are you dreaming of the moons that burned so bright/ And of love in flight?”) is ethereal. Fans of breathtaking choral music will surely love this disc—a gorgeous soundtrack for the holidays.

“IF YOU WELD IT, PAINT IT, FIX IT OR AIR IT UP, WE’VE GOT WHAT YOU NEED”

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Loot Crate www.lootcrate.com The pursuit of loot is paramount to gamers and geeks. We farm it, we make tutorial YouTube videos on how to get it, and we show it off with the ego of Rafiki holding Simba atop Pride Rock. So to have it magically show up on our doorstep once a month—well, it just doesn’t get any better than that. Every month, Loot Crate’s subscription-box delivery service includes hand-picked and custom items that revolve around a geek or gamer theme such as zombies, arcades or animation. Until you open the box, the contents are a mystery, so your monthly subscription fee ($19.37, which also covers shipping) is a gamble. Or it would be if Loot Crate ever disappointed in its selections. Past boxes have included Ewoking Dead T-shirts, “It’s Over 9000!!!” stickers, 8-bit sunglasses, and Funko’s TMNT POP! vinyl figures. Each box balances wide-appeal items—drawing on popular franchises such as Doctor Who, Star Wars and Street Fighter—with hidden gems of Internet culture, collectibles and candy. Each month, Loot Crate seems to top itself, so that after a couple of boxes, you’ll find yourself with a serious case of subscription addiction. —Matthew Craggs

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PRICES GOOD AT OUR CHICO & OROVILLE LOCATIONS THROUGH 12/31/13

Rape Crisis Intervention & Prevention

Needs your help to get the word out about a new California law All victims of sexual assault will recieve a free forensic medical examination, regardless of whether or not they choose to participate in the criminal justice process. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS about sexual assault. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact Rape Crisis Intervention and Prevention.

Sub Pop Soundgarden released their first EP, Screaming Life, waaaaaay back in 1987, years before “grunge” was even a thing. To give it a little perspective, this was the same year bands like Poison and White Lion were roaming the charts. The six songs that ended up on Screaming Life had been road-tested by the band in clubs since its formation in 1984 (ya know, the year Tina Turner released Private Dancer). You can hear that live energy on songs like “Hunted Down” and “Entering,” both of which hint at what was to come. The following year, Soundgarden released Fopp, a quickie EP that featured the titular cover of an Ohio Players deep cut. It’s a great version, overall Fopp lacks the intensity of ScreamMUSIC although ing Life. Both EPs, of course, were released together in 1990 on compact disc, leaving behind the packaging and the sound quality. Sub Pop has remastered and reissued them here on vinyl (doubledisc) for the first time since that initial run, restoring all the goodies. They’re louder. And in the case of Screaming Life, the remaster does justice to Jack Endino’s airy production. Musically, Soundgarden have done much better, but as time capsules, these EPs are essential. —Mark Lore

This holiday season please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help provide assistance to victims. Your donation will provide items such as clothing, a safe place to stay, a hot meal and more.

WE ARE HERE TO LISTEN.

NO. IT IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE. 530-342-RAPE

Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties since 1974

24-Hour Hotline

(Collect Calls Accepted)

www.rapecrisis.org December 12, 2013

CN&R 29

Arts & Culture Zombeauties: (from left) Suzanne Papini and Samantha Deshler. PHOTOS BY AMY BROWN

Dames of the dead

THIS WEEK Local artists and performers peel off their skin for zombified pin-up calendar

Iand her friend Dani Kay decided to combine their shared loves of Audrey Hepburn, pin-up photography n late 2012, photographer Amy Brown

and zombies into a just-for-kicks, one-time art project. “The day after Thanksgiving, we ended up doing a tour of Chico by with Zombie Hepburn,” Brown Ken Smith said about making up Kay as a kens@ zombified version of the newsreview.com actress/fashion icon and taking photos of her around town. “It was Zombie vision: thrown together last minute, but Visit Amy Brown turned out looking pretty decent.” Photography at More important, the undead pinwww.facebook.com up lark inspired Brown to start /throughamyseyes and purchase thinking bigger. “I’ve always loved The Undead the idea of doing a calendar, and Beauties of Chico had never done a bigger project Calendar 2014 at like that,” she recalled. “At first I www.pistolfire just thought it would be something productions.com fun for me to do, but as I started for $15. planning and organizing—I’m a Virgo—I realized it could be worth doing for more than just myself.” Brown contacted makeup artist Ann Fox, with whom she’d previously worked on the Reservoir Dolls production at the Blue Room Theatre, and by year’s end, the women were laying solid plans for The Undead Beauties of Chico 2014 Calendar, a 12-month collection of 13 local women (October includes a pair of trick-or-treating models) photographed all dolled up and undead. The first shoot took place in late March and the last in early November. Fox and Brown explained that each session, which averaged about eight hours long, was the result of at least a month of planning— gathering and making props, blocking the shoot, coordinating with models, finding locations and other details. Models provided their own costumes, and elaborate characters, settings and original stories were created for each scene. “The backstories were especially important, because we needed to know how each of them died to decide how to do their makeup,” Fox said. Brown added that collaboration with the models was also integral to the project: “We could put them 30 CN&R December 12, 2013

in the clothes we wanted to and just let the picture tell a story, but we wanted them to be really involved and let their personalities shine through. Why not let them be who they really are … except in zombiepinup form?” For models, the calendar’s planners chose a bevy of beauties active in the local theater, visual-arts and music communities. Many of the models are involved in more than one medium, Brown—herself an actress and singer, in addition to being a photographer—said. She cited Samantha Francis (now also known as Miss February)—an actress, painter and singer in the band Decades—as an example. Brown and Fox also each took a turn in front of the camera, which presented unique challenges for both. Brown found herself frolicking among headstones in the Chico Cemetery on a blustery fall day, scantily clad in a retro sundress and sporting a prominent head wound as assistant photographer Jasmine Ingersoll took the shots. Fox’s challenges were even more difficult. “I’d never done modeling or anything like that, because I’m always backstage. And for most of the shoot, I didn’t have any clothes on,” Fox said. “It was a crazy experience. You also have to learn to trust the photographer, to know that they see things differently than you do and trust what they say. But it was great for my confidence, and very liberating.” Most of the photos were shot at models’ or friends’ homes, with Brown’s graveyard romp and local singer/songwriter Aubrey Debauchery’s Cohasset-location shoot being exceptions. “It was fun to see people’s reactions as they were driving by, because we had her [Debauchery] hitchhiking on the side of the road looking like she’d just got run over, and wondered if someone was going to want to pick her up,” Fox said, adding that Debauchery’s shoot was also fun makeup-wise. “She was open to anything. She basically just said, ‘Do anything you want; go ahead and rip me apart.’” The calendar’s makers and models celebrated its release with a wrap-and-release party at Duffy’s Tavern on Nov. 26. Fox and Brown said that, while they’re still busy promoting the new calendar (available at www.pistolfireproductions.com for $15), they’re already brainstorming ideas for 2015. Ω

THURS

FRI

Theater

Special Events

A CHRISTMAS STORY: Follow Ralphie on his quest to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas in this classic holiday comedy. Th-Sa, 7:30pm; Su, 2pm through 12/22. $12-$20. Chico Theater Company, 166-F Eaton Rd., (530) 894-3282, www.chicotheatercompany.com.

AN EVENING OF ONE ACTS: With Baja Fever and

Pinter Perfect by Anna Devore, directed by Cayndis Adams. Th-Sa, 7:30pm; Su, 2pm through 12/15. $7-$20. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.bird cagetheatre.net.

HOLIDAY BURLESQUE AND VAUDEVILLE COMEDY SHOW: The folks from the Chico Cabaret are back with the former theater’s popular holiday variety show showing at Rogue Theatre’s Southside Playhouse. Email for more info: chicocabaret@sbcglobal.net Th-Sa, 7pm through 12/21. $15 (tickets at door). Southside Playhouse, 2145 Park Ave., Ste. 13.

Art Receptions FORM RISE FALL: An opening reception for Jonny Alexander’s BFA culminating exhibition. Th, 12/12, 5pm. B-So Space, Ayres 107, Chico State, (530) 898-5331.

STORIES TWO: A reception for works by artists who’ve made Chico their home: Peter Jodaitis, Marion Bronson, Laura King, Michael Murphey and Klutch Stanaway. Th, 12/12, 5-7pm. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

Poetry/Literature BOOK PRESENTATION: With Bob Madgic pre-

senting The Sacramento: A Transcendent River. Th, 12/12, 7pm. Lyon Books, 135 Main St., (530) 891-3338, www.lyonbooks.com.

CHRISTOPHER BREEDLOVE RECEPTION Saturday, Dec. 14 Idea Fabrication Labs

SEE SATURDAY, ART RECEPTIONS

ART ABOUT: A monthly art walk coordinated by the Chico Visual Arts Alliance (ChiVAA). Every second Friday, a different area of Chico is featured. Visit site for details. F, 12/13, 5-8pm. Free. Call or visit website for details: www.chivaa.org/artabout.

CINDERELLA: Chico Community Ballet dancers enter a land filled with music, sets, colorful costumes and choreography, where pumpkins turn into carriages and fairy godmothers really do make dreams come true. F-Sa, 12/13-14, 7:30pm, & Sa-Su, 12/14-15, 2pm. $16$28. Laxson Auditorium, Chico State, (530) 898-6333, www.chicoperformances.com.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE: Rowell Family Empowerment of Northern California hosts Joan Goodreau, a local author, presenting her new book, Strangers Together: How My Son’s Autism Changed My Life. F, 12/13, 6-8pm. Rowell Family Empowerment of Northern California, 3075 Cohasset Rd., Ste. 2, (530) 8998968.

THE NUTCRACKER: The holiday classic performed by the Northern California Ballet and directed by Trudi Angel. F-Sa, 12/13-14, 7:15pm, Sa-Su, 12/14-15, 2:15pm. $12-$20. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunnelly Rd. (530) 872-8454, www.paradiseperformingarts.com.

VOOM VOOM VARIETY SHOW: As a kickoff for the weekend’s Bizarre Bazaar, Chikoko hosts an eclectic variety show of local talent with musicians, comedians, dancers, poets, ventriloquists, yodelers and pure madness. F, 12/13, 7pm. $5. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 894-1978.

FINE ARTS Theater BELIEVE: See Friday. Center for the Arts, 1475 East Ave., (530) 899-2692.

A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Thursday. Chico Theater Company, 166-F Eaton Rd., (530) 8943282, www.chicotheatercompany.com.

AN EVENING OF ONE ACTS: See Thursday. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.birdcagetheatre.net.

A FANCY CHRISTMAS: See Friday. Oroville State

HOLIDAY BURLESQUE AND VAUDEVILLE COMEDY SHOW

Thursday-Saturday, through Dec. 21 Southside Playhouse SEE THURSDAY-SATURDAY, THEATER

Theatre, 1489 Myers St. in Oroville, (530) 5382470.

HOLIDAY BURLESQUE AND VAUDEVILLE COMEDY SHOW: See Thursday. Southside Playhouse, 2145 Park Ave. Ste. 13.

Art Receptions CHRISTOPHER BREEDLOVE: New works made at

Music SOUNDS OF THE SACRED SEASON: A holiday tradition, the North State Symphony performs baroque music of the season. Plus, audience caroling. F, 12/13, 7:30pm. $12-$30. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 416 Chestnut St., Chico, (530) 898-5984, www.northstate symphony.org.

Theater BELIEVE: A holiday musical/dance production

based on the story of The Polar Express, created by local brother-sister team Jeff Schneeweis (of bands Number One Gun and The Make) and Sarah Blakely (HYPE Dance Studio). F, Sa, 7pm; Su, 2pm through 12/22. CUSD Center for the Arts, 1475 East Ave., (530) 899-2692.

A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Thursday. Chico Theater Company, 166-F Eaton Rd., (530) 8943282, www.chicotheatercompany.com.

AN EVENING OF ONE ACTS: See Thursday. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.birdcagetheatre.net.

A FANCY CHRISTMAS: An original holiday musical featuring the actors, dancers and singers of Stamp Your Feet Performing Arts Centre. 12/13-12/14, 7:30pm. $10. Oroville State Theatre, 1489 Myers St. in Oroville, (530) 538-2470.

HOLIDAY BURLESQUE AND VAUDEVILLE COMEDY SHOW: See Thursday. Southside Playhouse, 2145 Park Ave., Ste. 13.

SAT

Special Events BANGOR HOLIDAY: Hickman Family Vineyards and Bangor Ranch host wine, olive oil and food tasting with holiday sales and festive cheer at the ranch. Sa, 12/14, 12-5pm. Free. Hickman Family Vineyards, 77 Orange Ave., in Bangor, (530) 679-0679.

FREE LISTINGS! Post your event for free online at www.newsreview.com/calendar. Once posted, your CN&R calendar listing will also be considered for print. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations. Deadline for print listings is one week prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

CHIKOKO BIZARRE BAZAAR: The Chikoko design/ artist collective hosts its annual alternative holiday craft fair, featuring the handmade clothing, jewelry and utilitarian art of local artists. 12/14-12/15, 10am-5pm. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 894-1978.

CINDERELLA: See Friday. Laxson Auditorium, Chico State, (530) 898-6333, www.chico performances.com.

LIVE NATIVITY: Relive Mary and Joseph’s nativity story with live animals and actors. Sa, 12/14, 6-9pm. Free. Paradise United Methodist Church, 6722 Clark Rd., in Paradise, (530) 8775989, www.parumc.org.

THE NUTCRACKER: See Friday. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunnelly Rd. , (530) 872-8454, www.paradise performingarts.com.

PARADE OF LIGHTS: Annual parade of lights in downtown Oroville, with a visit from Santa and a tree-lighting ceremony. Sa, 12/14, 6pm. Free. Bird and Myers streets in Oroville.

Music JEFFERSON STARSHIP: The legendary psychedelic-rock pioneers (minus Grace Slick) hit Chico on their reunion tour. Alli Battaglia & the Musical Brewing Co. open. Sa, 12/14, 8pm. $30. El Rey Theatre, 230 W. Second St., (530) 8921838.

SURROGATE: Local pop-rock, plus the “hardcore

electronic bacon” of Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy. Sa, 12/14, 9pm. Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park

Ave., (530) 343-4915.

BANGOR HOLIDAY

the lab by Chicago-based artist involved in the Human Avatar Project and a host of other mixed-media installation projects. Sa, 12/14, 3-6pm. Idea Fabrication Labs, 603 Orange St., (530) 592-0609.

SUN

Special Events BEER-PAIRING BRUNCH: Join Chef Michael Iles for breakfast breads and crepes made with brewer’s grain, and a different beer accompanying each dish. Su, 12/15, 11am-2pm. $50. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 1075 E. 20th St., (530) 892-4647, www.sierranevada.com.

CHIKOKO BIZARRE BAZAAR: See Saturday. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 894-1978.

CINDERELLA: See Friday. Laxson Auditorium, Chico State, (530) 898-6333, www.chico performances.com.

THE NUTCRACKER: See Friday. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunnelly Rd. , (530) 872-8454, www.paradiseperformingarts.com.

Art 100TH MONKEY CAFÉ & BOOKS: A Few of my

Favorite Things, bold, colorful mixed-media works by local artist, Sally Hedley. Through 12/31. 642 W. Fifth St.

1078 GALLERY: Stories Two, a group exhibition featuring five local artists showcasing media such as ceramics, paintings, photographs and prints. 12/12-1/4. 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

ARTISANS GALLERIA: Artisan Displays, showcasing sculptures, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, stone art and more by Larry Lefner, Matt Tupper, Don Bravo and other local artists. 25 Lost Dutchman Dr.

AVENUE 9 GALLERY: New California Abstracts, new abstract landscape paintings by Lenn Goldmann. Through 1/11, 2014. 180 E. Ninth Ave., (530) 879-1821, www.avenue9 gallery.com.

B-SO SPACE: Form Rise Fall, a BFA culminating exhibition featuring sculptural prints by Jonny Alexander. Through 12/13. Ayres 107, Chico State, (530) 898-5331.

BUTTE COLLEGE ART GALLERY: The Portal

Series: Opportunity Knocks, brightly painted works on doors by Caitlin Schwerin. Through 12/31. 3536 Butte Campus Dr. in Oroville, (530) 895-2208.

CHICO ART CENTER: Winter Salon d’Art, oneof-a-kind gifts created by local fine artists, including original paintings, sculptures, jewelry, prints, mosaics and ceramic works. Through 12/31. 450 Orange St., (530) 8958726, www.chicoartcenter.com.

CHICO PAPER CO.: Mariam Pakbaz, drawings and paintings by recent Chico State graduate showcase reflections of her inner world. Through 12/31. 345 Broadway, (530) 8910900, www.chicopapercompany.com.

JAMES SNIDLE FINE ARTS: A Walk With the

Animals, watercolors of animals and their environment by the late Lois Cohen. Through 12/31. 254 E. Fourth St., (530) 343-2930.

tographic cyanotypes by Saucy Cat & The Kid. Through 12/31. 118 W Second St., (530) 895-0676.

THE JANET TURNER PRINT MUSEUM: Girl

Speak: Shojo Manga & Women’s Prints, prints by women or depicting women, including pieces from traveling Shojo Manga exhibit. Curated by Masami Toku. Through 12/14. Chico State, (530) 898-4476, www.theturner.org.

THIRD FLOOR GALLERY: Beauty and the Abject:

A Dialectic, with paintings by Cortney Berg, Kara Hartman, Benjamin Engle and numerous other Chico State artists. Through 12/18. BMU, Third Floor, Chico State, (530) 8985489.

UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY: Pushing

Boundaries: Expanding Horizons, paintings by Erika Navarrete, exploring issues surrounding our most intimate relationships, inner dialogues and self-evaluation. Through 12/13. Trinity Hall, Chico State, (530) 8985864.

Call for Artists EVERYTHING BLUE: How will you portray this pervasive hue? All mediums accepted: must be wall-hanging. Call for more info. 12/121/18, 12-5pm. $5. Manas Artspace & Gallery, 1441-C Park Ave., (530) 588-5183.

Museums CHICO CREEK NATURE CENTER: Banding by Day and Night, a close look at birds in hand with incredible detail. Ongoing. 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

CHICO MUSEUM: Chico in Black and White, an exhibit featuring historical photos from the John Nopel collection. Ongoing. 141 Salem St., (530) 891-4336.

GATEWAY SCIENCE MUSEUM: Keys to the

Kingdom: Fungi; learn the varieties and importance of mushrooms and fungi via interactive displays. Through 1/5, 2014. $6. 625 Esplanade, www.csuchico.edu/gateway.

NAKED LOUNGE TEA & COFFEEHOUSE: Psyano, an experimental look into the world of pho-

SANTA CLAUS: He’s coming to town to take photos with the kids before he heads back to the North Pole. Su, 12/15, 12-4pm. Gold Nugget Museum, 502 Pearson Rd., in Paradise, (530) 872-8722, www.goldnuggetmuseum.com.

Music CHRISTMAS CONCERT: Ellen Pastorino directs the 50-member Chico Community Band and welcomes special guests from the Hamilton High

THIS WEEK continued on page 32

Saturday, Dec. 14 Hickman Family Vineyards

SEE SATURDAY, SPECIAL EVENTS

Weird, wonderful, convenient The holiday season is so packed full of parties and unique events that finding time to shop for gifts can be tough. That’s part of the reason why the Bizarre Bazaar is so great, as it’s at once a must-attend event and an opportunity to buy handmade clothing, jewelry and utilitarian art made EDITOR’S PICK by local hands. The Bazaar runs Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 14-15, at the Chico Women’s Club and is hosted by beloved local art/ fashion/design collective Chikoko. It kicks off Friday night, Dec. 13, with the Voom Voom Variety Show, an eclectic mix of “musicians, comedians, dancers, poets, ventriloquists, yodelers, and pure madness.”

December 12, 2013

CN&R 31

Benefit for the Salvation Army Food Bank

THIS WEEK continued from page 31 School Band to perform sing-along songs of the season. Su, 12/15, 2pm. Free. Lakeside Pavilion, 2565 California Park Dr., (530) 895-8395.

THE YULE LOGS: Celebrate five years of business with Magnolia Gift & Garden and special musical guests, The Yule Logs. Su, 12/15, 3pm. Magnolia Gift & Garden, 1367 East Ave., (530) 8945410, www.magnoliagardening.com.

Something classic, something new, something familiarâ€Śyet totally original! December People is a quintet of musicians from some of the worldâ€™s biggest bands, performing a classic rock Christmas show! Youâ€™ll hear familiar holiday songs played in the styles of your favorite rock hits, from Santana to Boston to Elton John to AC/DC! classicrockchristmas.com

AN EVENING OF ONE ACTS: See Thursday. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.birdcage theatre.net.

TUES

Theater

Music

BELIEVE: See Friday. Center for the Arts, 1475 East Ave., (530)

LEFTOVER CUTIES: The four-piece out of Venice performs

899-2692.

A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Thursday. Chico Theater Company, 166-F Eaton Rd., (530) 894-3282, www.chicotheatercom pany.com.

sultry jazz-tinged songs from their new album The Spark & The Fire. The Novelists open. Tu, 12/17, 7:30pm. $15. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 1075 E. 20th St., (530) 892-4647, www.sierranevada.com.

BULLETIN BOARD Community AFRICAN DANCE CLASS: A workout set to the sounds and

rhythms of West Africa. Call for info. M, 6pm. $10. Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Old Nord Ave., (530) 321-5607.

AFRO-CARIBBEAN DANCE: Dances of Cuba, Haiti, Brazil and

West Africa with live drumming. Tu, 5:30pm. Chico Womenâ€™s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 345-6324.

ARABIC DINNER: Support the Shalom Free Clinic and enjoy an

6DWXUGD\ 'HFHPEHU 30 7LFNHWV MXVW RU R] RI FDQQHG IRRG Get your tickets: (530) 533-3885

Arabic dinner and auction prepared by Ali Sarsour and friends. Sa, 12/14, 6pm. $15. Shalom Free Clinic Thrift Store, 250 E. First. St., (530) 345-7056.

CHICO CONTRA DANCE: Traditional contra dance with music by the Pub Scouts. Second Sa of every month, 6:30-10pm. $4$8. Chico Grange, 2775 Nord Ave., (530) 877-2930.

CHICO FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE: Chico Friends of

3 Alverda Dr., Oroville, CA 95966 www.featherfallscasino.com

the Library weekly book sale. Sa, 9:15-11:30am. Butte County Library, Chico Branch, 1108 Sherman Ave., (530) 891-2762, www.buttecounty.net/bclibrary.

ARABIC DINNER

Saturday, Dec. 14 Shalom Free Clinic Thrift Store SEE COMMUNITY

CHICO POLICE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD: Monthly meeting hosted by the Chico Police Chief to discuss community issues. Third W of every month, 5:30-7pm. Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1877 Hooker Oak Ave., (530) 342-7777.

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DANCE SANCTUARY WAVE: Bring a water bottle, drop your mind, find your feet and free your spirit. Call for more info.

Tu, 6:30-8:30pm. $10. (530) 891-6524.

DANCING FREEDOM: A weekly open dance with the elements. F, 6-8pm. $6-$12 sliding scale. Subud Hall, 574 E. 12th St., (530) 532-1989.

EVENING DANCE JAM: A weekly meditative dance session. F,

7:15pm. $10. Yoga Center of Chico, 250 Vallombrosa Ave., Suite

150, (530) 342-0100.

FARMERSâ€™ MARKET: CHAPMAN: A year-round Certified Farmersâ€™ Market serving as a community forum for healthful-lifestyle promotion and education. F, 2-5:30pm. Chapman Mulberry Community Center, 1010 Cleveland Ave., (530) 6248844, www.cchaos.org.

FARMERSâ€™ MARKET: SATURDAY: Chicoâ€™s weekly community gathering, with fresh produce, crafts, baked goods and more. Sa, 7:30am-1pm. Municipal Parking Lot No. 1, Second & Wall streets.

FREE HEALTH CLINIC: Free services for minor medical ail-

ments. Call for more info. Su, 1-4pm. Free. Shalom Free Clinic, 1190 E. First Ave., (530) 518-8300, www.shalom freeclinic.org.

GOLDEN GRILL: Lunch accompanied by raffles and bingo. Call

to reserve a spot. Fri., 06/14, 11:30am-12:30pm. $4. Pavilion at California Park, 2565 California Park Dr., (530) 895-4015.

HAPPY HEALING: Experience a variety of healing modalities. F, 7pm. 100th Monkey CafĂŠ & Books, 642 W. Fifth St.

INFINITE RHYTHMS ECSTATIC DANCE: A shoe-free, food-free, drug-free, smoke-free dance for you and yours with DJ Clay. Th, 7:30-9:30pm through 5/8. $8-$10. Manas Artspace & Gallery, 1441-C Park Ave., (530) 588-5183.

care and mental-health counseling. Call for more information. Su, 2-4pm. Free. Paradise Lutheran Church, 780 Luther Dr. in Paradise, 872-7085.

SHOPPING DAYS WITH SANTA: Bring your children and let them shop for hand-crafted holiday gifts for the whole family. A bake sale will feature home-baked goodies and Santa will be making a special appearance. F, 12/13, 10am-7pm, Sa, 12/14, 8:30am-5pm. $3-$8. Chico Nursery School, 1190 E. First Ave., (530) 891-1723, www.chiconurseryschool.org.

SOUL SHAKE DANCE CHURCH: Drop your mind, find your feet and free your spirit at this DJ dance wave to a range of musical styles. No previous dance experience necessary. Su, 10am-noon. $8-$15 sliding scale. Dorothy Johnson Center, 775 E. 16th St., (530) 891-6524, www.chicorec.com.

SOUNDS OF THE VALLEY CHORUS: Women singers welcome to sing in four-part harmony, barbershop style. Call for more info. W, 7pm. Marigold Elementary School, 2446 Marigold Ave., (530) 343-5183.

SQUARE-DANCE CLUB: Square-dancing classes for beginners

and advanced-level dancers. Call for more info. Th, 7-10pm. Veterans Memorial Hall, 6550 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 872-1962.

TAKE US HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The annual December adoption campaign aims to have every animal available on December 1 adopted into a new home by Dec. 31. Visit website to see available animals. Through 12/31. Butte Humane Society, 2579 Fair St., (530) 343-7917.

TRADITIONAL WEST AFRICAN DANCE: All levels of drummers and dancers welcome. W, 5:30-7pm. $10. Chico Womenâ€™s Club, 592 E. Third St., (808) 757-0076.

WILD FOR WINTER: A walk, plus seasonal craft projects and

discussion for young ones. Sa, 12/14, 11am-noon. $12. Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

PARADISE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE: Used book

sale. Every other Sa, 10am-3pm. Prices vary. Butte County Library, Paradise Branch, 5922 Clark Rd., (530) 872-6320, www.buttecounty.net/bclibrary/Paradise.htm.

PEACE PANEL PROJECT: A traveling progressive graphic art

exhibit supporting peace and justice. Second Th of every month, 3:30pm through 1/1. Free. Chico Peace and Justice Center, 526 Broadway, (530) 343-3152, www.chicopeace.org.

32 CN&R December 12, 2013

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CHOW reserve nOw fOr Christmas

8 8

Tastes like home

a kid at home during the holidays. For me, it’s garland hung from every ceiling beam in our cottage-style home, twinkle lights wrapped around each window, and having my friends over to decorate home-baked gingerbread houses with my mom. Hours before I’d wake up for school, Mom story and would be in the kitchen mixing, rolling, baking, photos by stenciling and assembling gingerbread houses. After Stacey Kennelly days of construction, a group of us would gather with our plain houses around a table covered with assorted candy canes, Skittles, marshmallows and whatever else was on sale in the candy aisle to decorate our structures. Even through my teenage years, during Christmastime Mom would always offer to host a gingerbread extravaganza for my friends and me. (There were gingerbread men and women, too, and it probably goes without saying that our decorating skills got better—and more anatomically intricate—as we got older.) I’ll be home to take part in the tradition again this year. But a few years ago, living hours away from Mom, I took a stab at the construction myself. As I made a mess of my kitchen, I was reminded of how much work (and love) my mom put into assembling those cute, sweet-smelling abodes.

Gingerbread ingredients: 6 cups all-purpose flour 6 tablespoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup honey 1 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 stick butter, unsalted 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1 whole egg 1 egg yolk (save the white for icing) Icing ingredients: 2 egg whites 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

veryone has little things that remind them of being

Supplies: Nonstick spray, wax paper, foil, sturdy cardboard, toothpicks, rolling pin, two 11x16 baking pans, assorted candies.

3 3

A gingerbread house from scratch

Julie’s Gingerbread House

Gingerbread: Coat pans lightly with nonstick spray and flour. Sift first seven ingredients into a large bowl; set aside. In a large pot, bring honey, sugar and butter to a boil and cook five minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in last four ingredients. Pour into a mixer bowl (or regular bowl) and cool to room temperature. Beat in two cups at a time of sifted ingredients with dough hook. If you do not have a mixer, flour hands and knead until dough is soft, pliable and sticky. Add more flour if it’s too sticky (one teaspoon at a time). Roll as evenly as possible into two baking pans and force dough into corners with fingers. Bake at 325 degrees for 2025 minutes; cool before cutting (see blueprint). Note: One pan of gingerbread

is enough for one house. The second pan is for backup and snacking. Icing: Beat two egg whites until thick and frothy. Add sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition, until icing is thick and smooth. Note: Icing will harden over time, so cover and store in refrigerator. House assembly: Note: As each piece is assembled, hold in place for a few minutes to let icing set. Base: Use a piece of heavy cardboard at least 10-by-12 inches; wrap in cellophane or foil. Back and side walls: Ice bottom edge of back wall (1) and bottom edge and backside edge of one side wall (2). Fit side wall inside one edge of back wall and place one post (3) on inside corner. Repeat with other side wall (4). Front wall: Ice bottom edge and both side edges of front wall (5) and fit against edges of side walls. Place posts on each inside corner. Roof: Ice top edges of front and back walls and place angled roof pieces (6) together on top of structure. Place roof beam (7) in gap and fill with icing. Insert toothpicks to hold roof in place. Chimney: Ice two chimney pieces (8) together and place on roof at desired location. Allow at least three hours for house to dry. Decorate house and cardboard landscape with leftover icing (make more as needed) and your favorite candies. Ω

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December 12, 2013

CN&R 35

Want MORE for your community?

Choose Chico! Choose Chico! The value of your Chico dollar: 0¢

43¢

68¢

When spent out of the area

When spent at a business in Chico

When you drive out of town to shop, or shop at a non-local online retailer, nothing comes back to your community.

Your purchase generates sales tax revenue—the single largest source of funding for Chico’s public safety, park maintenance, and more.

When spent at a locally-owned independent business Your purchase also keeps profits in Chico which are then spent in the community. Studies prove it! SOURCE: CIVIC ECONOMICS

Your Chico dollar supports:

Cinderella

Local Jobs

Public Safety

The Best Service

Community Giving

Jobs where they matter the most—right here in your own community!

Tax revenues fund police, fire, park maintenance and community organizations.

You can’t beat shopping local for retailers who care, and take time to get to know you.

Local businesses are the backbone of local philanthropy. Let’s support them!

ADDITIONAL THANKS: CALIFORNIA ORGANIC FLOWERS, FARM STAR PIZZA. CAMPAIGN CREATIVE: ERIN WADE.

Chico Community Ballet Performs

A Magical Ballet

December 13th-15th Fri. & Sat. at 7:30 p.m. Sat. & Sun. at 2:00 p.m.

Laxson Auditorium, CSU, Chico

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www.chicoperformances.com Tickets $16-$28 University Box Office 898-6333 36 CN&R December 12, 2013

And be sure to catch the

VOOM VOOM VARIETY SHOW Friday Dec 13th, doors at 6pm show at 7pm, $5 also @ the Chico Womens Club 592 east third street

MUSIC California Honeydrops frontman Lech Wierzynski lets it blow at The Rendezvous. PHOTO BY MELANIE MACTAVISH

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Road-testing The Rendezvous The California Honeydrops break in a bright new venue

Tknew, even before they took the stage at The Rendezvous in north Chico, that there would be probhe California Honeydrops no doubt

lems. It’s never easy to road-test a brand-new venue, one that has never hosted a show by before, and that’s exactly what the Robert Oakland-based band was doing last Speer Friday (Dec. 6). On numerous occasions during their first set, band members signaled to the sound-board operators that they were getting feedback and the mix was bad. They clearly were having REVIEW: The California trouble cohering musically. But they Honeydrops, soldiered on, and fortunately many in Friday, Dec. 6, at the jam-packed crowd were passionThe Rendezvous. ate fans and more than willing to overlook the glitches. Grand opening: Then, toward the end of the first The Rendezvous will hold its grand set, the sound techs got the mix right, opening tonight, the lighting—which had ranged from Dec. 12, 5:30 p.m. blinding to blackout—evened out, Music by Bogg, and the band started to cook, serving plus demos of sound, lighting up its tasty blend of blues shuffles and projection (including a version of “Big Boss systems. Man” that would have made Jimmy Reed proud), Mardi Gras-style The Rendezvous marching music and down-home 3269 Esplanade 864-3525 R&B featuring the amazing (I don’t www.chico use the word lightly) vocals of Lech rendezvous.com Wierzynski. Yep, that’s his name. He was born in Warsaw, Poland; his parents came to this country as political refugees when he was just a boy. According to the band’s website (www.cahoney drops.com), his father was a lover of American roots music, especially jazz, blues and R&B, and “passed on the love of old stuff to me: everything from Louis Armstrong to Sam Cooke,” he says. Wierzynski can do Sam Cooke, just as he can do Jimmy Reed and Dr. John (on that old jazz classic “You Rascal You”). He has a powerful voice that can range from lowdown and gravelly to high falsetto, and when he isn’t singing up a storm he’s playing

guitar or trumpet. On the latter instrument he forms a two-man horn section with saxophonist Johnny Bones. Both have a deep love for Mardi Gras-style marching music, and indeed at one point the six band members left the stage and snaked through the crowd, playing all the while. The first set ended with a rousing version of the band’s signature song, “(I Liked You Better) When It Was Wrong,” on which Wierzynski, who’s a captivating showman, got the audience singing along on the refrain so loudly it almost drowned out the band. The Rendezvous is a high-ceilinged white

box of a room with exposed air ducts and a balcony opposite the portable stage. It’s owned by Steve Schuman, the longtime owner of North Valley Productions, and his wife, Stacey. Last Friday, the venue was a work in progress. That afternoon, employees were still bringing in tables and chairs for the balcony (there were none yet for the downstairs, but they’re coming, apparently). A sign on the restrooms noted they weren’t “completed” and advised those needing relief to go next door, to Sol Mexican Grill. During the set break, Paul Lieberum, the venue’s architect, told me it was “a miracle” that Schuman was able to bring off the concert and credited his “positive thinking” for the success. Introducing the Honeydrops, Schuman said he and his wife intended The Rendezvous to be an allpurpose venue hosting everything from weddings to quinceañeras, as well as concerts. There’s more to do, however, if The Rendezvous is going to compete with, say, the Sierra Nevada Big Room as a music venue. It needs better stage and backdrop lighting, for one thing, and of course more tables and chairs downstairs and bathrooms that work. The good news is that the sound system is top drawer, there’s a maple floor for dancing, and the place is attractive and clean. It has a lot of potential. I have a rule when doing reviews to stay to the end, but I broke it Friday, leaving halfway through the Honeydrops’ second set. I had to pee, and Sol was closed. Ω December 12, 2013

CN&R 37

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T Color, and parts of it—the lengthy nude sex scenes—may look a little like what was once known

as a “blue movie.” The new film from Abdellatif Kechiche (The Secret of the Grain) does by indeed earn its NC-17 rating, but there’s Juan-Carlos nothing cheap or prurient about it, and the Selznick radiant sexual idylls that take up much of the middle portion of this three-hour coming-of-age drama are crucial to both the highs and the lows that play out over the full course of the story. The “coming-of-age” billing for this French-language production is true Blue Is the Warmest Color enough, but there’s nothing run-of-theEnds tonight, mill about its approach to young love and Dec. 12. the passage into adulthood. The young Starring Adèle love in this case is a matter of same-sex Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. passions, and the overall picture of young Directed by lives is tender and frank and not much Abdellatif given to the usual sentiments. Kechiche. Léa Seydoux is the one star in the cast, Pageant Theatre. but the film’s central character is a teenager Rated NC-17. named Adèle, and she’s played by a young woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos) making her feature-film debut. The film’s title in French translates as “The Life of Adèle,” and that title is a little better attuned to a story whose main overall focus is on the Poor passage from feisty teenager to toughminded young adult. Still, the central event in that passage is Adèle’s brief, passionateFair ly intense romance with a quirky, rebellious art student played by Seydoux. Exarchopoulos and Seydoux are especially good in their shared scenes, and Good both exude kinds of beauty that have very little to do with conventional notions of what’s pretty. Kechiche presents much of Very Good the action in calm, flowing fragments; the gentle sensuality and unhurried alertness seem inseparable, ultimately, from this Ω Excellent film’s patient realism and honesty.

38 CN&R December 12, 2013

Complimentary hues.

here is a lot of blue in Blue Is the Warmest

Smoldering in the rust Out of the Furnace

Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated R.

by Juan-Carlos Selznick Out of the Furnace, the new film from

Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), mixes violent action with some sensitively written (and very well-acted) character drama. Brutal violence pretty much gets the first and last word in this case, but the character of Russell Baze and Christian Bale’s very fine performance in the role are likely to be the things that stay with you after the bloodletting has stopped. The story revolves around Bale’s character, a steel-mill worker in a decaying Rust Belt town, and his wayward younger brother, Rodney (Casey Affleck), an Iraq war vet (four stints) trying to faststart his bankroll via gambling and bare-knuckle boxing matches. When Rodney was in Iraq, Russell did a stint in prison (for vehicular homicide) and emerged to find that his beloved (Zoe Soldana) had married the local sheriff (Forest Whitaker). Later on, a sad-sack bar-owner/gambler/promoter (Willem Dafoe) gets Rodney a high-stakes match in the domain of a terrifying backwoods crime boss (Woody Harrelson) ruling over an “inbred” clan of hillbilly psychopaths. When Dafoe and Affleck fail to return from their venture among the “inbreds,” Russell and his steadfast uncle (Sam Shepard) take action. Not much good can come from that, but it still counts for something that Russell and his uncle are old-school stalwarts with deep loyalties to the little that’s left of family and friends. Better yet, Russell might be a character out of Dostoevsky—a volatile combination of calm ferocity and an almost mystical gentleness. Ω

Opening this week The Book Thief

Against the backdrop of Nazi Germany during WWII, a young girl risks all to seek out books and share them with others, including a Jewish refugee hiding in her foster parents’ basement. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated PG-13.

Enough Said

A lightly screwball-ish rom-com starring Julia Louis Dreyfus as a massage therapist whose new relationship with a sweet slob (James Gandolfini, in his last starring role before his death) loses some luster once she realizes that he’s the ex of one of her clients (Catherine Keener). Pageant Theatre. Rated PG-13.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Part two of director Peter Jackson’s threepart film version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic 1937 fantasy novel, The Hobbit. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.

A Madea Christmas

Tyler Perry is back in drag as the sassy, pistol-packing granny, this time on a Christmas adventure in the country. Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.

Now playing

About Time

A romantic comedy with a time-travel twist, About Time also has a bit of a serious streak. The central romance of the tale brings a young, klutzy, redheaded British lawyer Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) together with perky American graduate student Mary (Rachel McAdams), but the relationship between Tim and his father (Bill Nighy) is no less crucial. Frisky humor is in play with both relationships, but the glimpses of serious drama come mostly via Tim’s dad. And, as we learn early on, a limited but real ability to travel in time is an attribute shared by all of the males in Tim’s family. Much of About Time plays like an agreeably rambunctious exercise in wish fulfillment, and writer-director Richard Curtis seems to recognize the need for something to offset the nonstop sweetness and light of the Tim-Mary plot. And so, almost as an afterthought, we get intimations of mortality and sorrow in the last reels. Paradise Cinema 7. Rated R —J.C.S.

All is Lost

Robert Redford’s superb performance, most of it wordless, is the dramatic heart and soul of J. C. Chandor’s astonishing little lost-at-sea epic. But while Redford’s solitary mariner is the film’s lone character, All Is Lost is no one-man show. Instead, it’s a tour de force of filmmaking, an inspired collaboration of Redford and writer-director Chandor working in concert with a gifted crew. The story is simple enough: A man is struggling to survive in a sinking sailboat somewhere far from land in the Indian Ocean. The action is fast and furious throughout, but Chandor and company never lose sight of the story’s intertwined dramas—the physical battle against the elements and the more intimate one of a not-quite-lost soul facing the escalating evidence of his own insignificance. Pageant Theatre. Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.

Blue is the Warmest Color

Ends tonight, Dec. 12. See review this issue. Pageant Theatre. Rated NC-17 —J.C.S.

Dallas Buyers Club

Lanky Ron Woodroof was a macho bullrider and full-time party animal from Texas. When doctors told him he was HIVpositive, he went into very angry denial. When his AIDS symptoms became overwhelmingly obvious, he began a headlong battle looking for cures—mainstream or otherwise—and becoming a kind of outlaw

advocate for AIDS patients. Dallas Buyers Club charts Woodroof’s journey from macho, homophobic bon vivant to swashbuckling purveyor of medical alternatives. A big part of Woodroof’s story comes off here as a dark-humored picaresque escapade, a furiously rambunctious bootlegging caper in the midst of life-and-death emergencies. That makes for an intriguing narrative hook, but Dallas Buyers Club earns its deepest interest by way of two remarkable performances—Matthew McConaughey, in a devilishly engaging turn as the rough-edged Woodroof, and a floridly sashaying Jared Leto as transvestite Rayon. The screenplay, however, is very uneven. Director JeanMarc Vallée and McConaughey make the most of its stronger points, but the scripted mixture of didacticism and entertainment sometimes falls flat. Cinemark 14. Rated R —J.C.S.

Delivery Man

Canadian writer/director Ken Scott remakes his own movie, Starbuck (2012), with Vince Vaughn now starring as an American version of his original character, a sperm-bank donor who finds out 20 years later that his seed has sprouted 533 children, and who now must decide whether or not to come forward as the biological dad of the 142 of them who have filed a lawsuit to figure out his identity. Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.

Frozen

The new Disney computer-animated feature is an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, The Snow Queen. In the film, a young princess embarks on an epic journey to find her sister—the Snow Queen— whose magical powers have buried the kingdom in a never-ending winter. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.

Homefront

After moving his family to a sleepy town, a DEA agent (Jason Statham) gets involved in a war with the local meth dealer (James Franco) and his cronies. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated R.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

As a bridge, Catching Fire is in itself entertaining, but suffers in that it gets us only to the midway point of a story that ends in 2015. We rejoin Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth) as they spend some quality time hunting in the woods while the second narrative arc kicks in. It seems that President Snow (Donald Sutherland) isn’t too happy with Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) escaping his deadly machinations and sowing the seeds of revolution, so he brings in the ultimate game-designer (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to whip up something to clear the slate of all the past winners of the Hunger Games. So it’s back into the arena, and this time the emphasis is more on the game versus the competitors, than the competitors going after each other. We are never given anything but a rudimentary introduction to most of them, so as the casualties pile up, any connection with the characters existing as anything other than clay pigeons rings hollow. However, the film does move along cracklingly enough for a 2 1/2-hour entertainment. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13 —C.B.

Out of the Furnace

See review this is issue. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated R —J.C.S.

Philomena

Stephen Frears (The Queen, High Fidelity) directs this based-on-real-events story about a British journalist (Steve Coogan) who helps a woman (Judi Dench) find out what happened to the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years earlier. Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.

Thor: The Dark World

Chris Hemsworth is back as the god/superhero with the all-powerful hammer, reuniting with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and reluctantly teaming up with his scheming adoptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) on a journey that will “force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.” Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.

We Want to Help! Chico Cash Exchange

• Collateral Loans / Pawns • Cash for Gold • Check Cashing • Payday Advance

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“The LasT PicTure show ever in chico PresenTed in 35MM” oPens Friday! JaMes GandoLFini, JuLia Louis dreyFus

Enough Said Friday/saTurday 8PM; sunday 2:30PM Mon-Thursday 6PM heLd over - roberT redFord

aLL iS LoST Friday/saTurday 6PM sunday aT noon (FinaL show)

call 343-0663 or visit www.Pageantchico.com

COME RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH US! MAKE YOUR N.Y.E. PARTY RESERVATIONS NOW!

Lunch Tuesday-Saturday at 11:30am Champagne Brunch Sunday at 9am-2pm Dinner Tuesday-Sunday 4pm-9pm Happy hour Tuesday-Sunday 3pm-6pm 3312 ESPLANADE, CHICO | 530-809-1108 | OPEN 7 DAYS | RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED

FRIDAY 12/13 – tuesDAY 12/17

CINDERELLA

Chico Community Ballet (12/13-15)

YOU’RE WELCOME, TREES.

RECYCLE THIS PAPER.

Reviewers: Craig Blamer and Juan-Carlos Selznick.

GOLDEN DRAGON ACROBATS Fabulous Chinese Acrobats (1/15)

PINK MARTINI Global Cabaret (1/26)

STUNT DOG EXPERIENCE

Crazy Doggy Antics (1/28)

TOMMY EMMANUEL

with special guest Martin Taylor (1/30)

BÉLA FLECK & BROOKLYN RIDER Banjo Quintet (2/6)

TAO: PHOENIX RISING Japanese Taiko Drumming (2/7)

All shows at Laxson Auditorium California State University, Chico (530) 898-6333

Dallas Buyers CluB, The (Digital) (R) 11:15AM 2:05PM 4:50PM 7:35PM 10:25PM Delivery Man (Digital) (PG-13) 11:50AM 2:20PM 4:50PM 7:20PM 9:50PM Frozen (2013) (3D) (PG) (10:00AM*) 3:20PM 8:40PM Frozen (2013) (Digital) (PG) 11:20AM 12:35PM 2:00PM 4:40PM 6:05PM 7:20PM 10:00PM hoBBiT: The DesolaTion oF sMaug, The (PG-13) (10:00AM*) 12:00PM 1:40PM 2:25PM 3:30PM 5:10PM 7:00PM 8:50PM 9:45PM 10:30PM hoBBiT: The DesolaTion oF sMaug, The (Digital) (PG-13) (10:45AM*) 1:10PM 4:40PM 6:05PM 8:10PM hoMeFronT (Digital) (R) 11:55AM♠ 2:30PM 5:00PM♦ 7:30PM♦ 10:05PM♦

hunger gaMes: CaTChing Fire, The (Digital) (PG-13) (10:40AM*) 12:25PM 2:05PM 3:45PM 5:25PM 7:05PM 8:45PM 10:25PM ouT oF The FurnaCe (Digital) (R) 11:25AM 2:10PM 4:55PM 7:40PM 10:30PM Thor: The Dark WorlD (Digital) (PG-13) 11:25AM 2:05PM 4:45PM 7:25PM♦ 10:05PM♦ Tyler Perry’s a MaDea ChrisTMas (Digital) (PG-13) (10:15AM*) 12:40PM 3:05PM 5:30PM 7:55PM 10:20PM (sPeCial shoWing) - MeT oPera: FalsTaFF (2013) (Digital) (NR) Sat. Dec. 14 ONLY 9:55AM (sPeCial shoWing) - royal BalleT: The nuTCraCker (2013) (Digital) (PG) Tues. 12/17 ONLY 7:00PM (sneak PrevieW) - anChorMan 2 (Digital) (PG-13) 9:00PM 12:01AM (Late Night Tues.)

Showtimes listed w/ ( *) shown Fri. - Sun. ONLY Showtimes listed w/ ♠ NOT shown Sat. 12/14 Showtimes listed w/ ♦ NOT shown Tues. 12/17

WWW.CHICOPERFORMANCES.COM December 12, 2013

CN&R 39

NIGHTLIFE

THURSDAY 12|12—WEDNESDAY 12|18

13FRIDAY BASSMINT: A weekly electronic dance

Café & Books, 642 W. Fifth St.

SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: A holiday tradi-

party with a rotating cast of local and regional DJs. F, 9:30pm. Peeking Chinese Restaurant, 243 W. Second St. 4, (530) 895-3888.

tion: the North State Symphony performs baroque music of the season. Plus, audience caroling. F, 12/13, 7:30pm. $12-$30. St John Catholic Church, 416 Chestnut St., Chico, (530) 898-5984, www.northstate symphony.org.

BROKEN RODEO: The local country-folk duo is now a trio! Garrett Gray has added his voice and guitar to Broken Rodeo. Donald Beaman and the Spirit Molecules open. F, 12/13, 9pm. Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave., (530) 343-4915.

12THURSDAY ABERRANCE: The death-metal boys are joined by fellow locals Io Torus and Bloodpig (hard-core punk from Stockton). Th, 12/12, 9pm. $5. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

ACOUSTIC SHOWCASE: Acoustic performances by Alli Battaglia and friends. Th, 12/12, 8pm. Lost On Main, 319 Main St., (530) 891-1853.

CHICO JAZZ COLLECTIVE: Thursday jazz.

Th, 8-11pm. Free. The DownLo, 319 Main St., (530) 892-2473.

FLO IN THE BLUES: Live blues music for the blue at heart featuring Steven Truskol and friends. Th, 12/12, 7-10pm. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveatflo.weebly.com.

LEFTOVER CUTIES Tuesday, Dec. 17 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. SEE TUESDAY

ELECTRIC CANYON CONVERGENCE: F, 12/13,

14SATURDAY CREAM OF CLAPTON: Kevin Russell pays homage to Eric Clapton. Sa, 12/14, 9:30pm. $5. Feather Falls Casino

7:30pm. $5. Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave., (530) 566-9476, www.cafe coda.com.

Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.featherfalls casino.com/brewing-co.

FRIDAY MORNING JAZZ: A weekly morning HAPPY HOUR: Loki and friends perform to get your weekend started. Th, 12/12, 5:30-7pm. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveat flo.weebly.com.

JOHN SEID DUO: John Seid and Larry Peterson play an eclectic mix of The

Beatles, blues and standards. Th, 69pm. Grana, 198 E. Second St., (530) 809-2304.

OPEN MIC: Singers, poets and musicians welcome. Th, 7-10pm. Has Beans Internet Café & Galleria, 501 Main St., (530) 894-3033, www.hasbeans.com.

jazz appointment with experimental local troupe Bogg. F, 11am. Free. Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave., (530) 5669476, www.cafecoda.com.

IRISH-MUSIC HAPPY HOUR: A Chico tradition: Friday-night happy hour with a traditional Irish music session by the Pub Scouts. F, 4pm. $1. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St., (530) 343-7718.

MANDOLIN JAZZ: Bob Kirkland Trio with

DRUM CIRCLE: All levels welcome. Sa,

12/14, 11am-1pm. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveat flo.weebly.com.

GUITAR PROJECT: With Warren Haskell

and friends. Sa, 12/14, 7:30pm. $10. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

JEFFERSON STARSHIP: The legendary psychedelic-rock pioneers (minus Grace Slick) hit Chico on their reunion tour. Alli Battaglia & the Musical Brewing Co. open. Sa, 12/14, 8pm. $30. El Rey Theatre, 230 W. Second St., (530) 892-1838.

Chris Wenger and Matt Christensen F, 12/13, 6:30-9pm. Albatross, 3312 Esplanade, (530) 345-6037, www.the albatross.com.

MONKEY MUSIC SHOWCASE: Spotlighting local acoustic singer/songwriters and musicians. F, 7:30pm. 100th Monkey

trio. Sa, 12/14, 9:30pm. $5. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.feather fallscasino.com/brewing-co.

KLEZMERPALOOZA: Sa, 12/14, 7pm. $5. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveatflo.weebly.com.

MUSIC SHOWCASE: An open mic hosted by local country musicians Rich and Kendall. Sa, 5-9pm. Free. Scotty’s Landing, 12609 River Rd., (530) 7102020.

OFF THE RECORD: Local band performing dance hits from the ’80s and ’90s. Sa,

FLO GOES KLEZMER

What tune comes to mind when you read the words “Pulp Fiction”? There’s a fair chance that it’s Dick Dale’s surf-rock take on one of klezmer music’s best-known standards, “Misirlou,” proving the music style might be familiar, even if the term isn’t. Chico is home to at least two klezmer bands, The Hemlock Street Klezmer Band and the Klezbillies (pictured),both with very different takes on the form (jazz/traditional versus bluegrass/ fusion), and both of which make all-too-rare public appearances. Both bands will play KlezmerPalooza, on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Cafe Flo. L’chaim!

KEVIN RUSSELL BAND: A blend of rock, soul and blues from the Detroit-based

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT US.

WHO ARE YOU? TAKE OUR ONLINE SURVEY AND YOU COULD WIN! 6 lucky respondents will win either: * A $50 gift certificate to The Bookstore * A free pass to the movies Take the survey online at www.research.net/s/013547 or scan the QR code with your smart phone.

the

Best Gift from the

Best Bar!

Duffy’s Hoodies NOW ON SALE! Limited Supply

Yule Logs

playing Saturday (12/7)

337 Main St (corner of 4th St. & Main)

40 CN&R December 12, 2013

NIGHTLIFE

NTS POST EVE Y ONLINE B AT ING R E T IS G E R /chico

THIS WEEK: FIND MORE ENTERTAINMENT AND SPECIAL EVENTS ON PAGE 30

newsreview.c

SHIGEMI & FRIENDS: Live jazz with key-

boardist Shigemi Minetaka and rotating accompaniment. Tu, 6:308:30pm. Free. Farm Star Pizza, 2359 Esplanade, (530) 343-2056, www.farm starpizza.com.

18WEDNESDAY FULL HOUSE BLUES JAM: Join house

12/14, 9pm-1am. $3 Cover. Studio Inn Cocktail Lounge, 2582 Esplanade, (530) 343-0662, www.otrrock.com.

SONG CIRCLE: With Robert Catalano. Sa,

12/14, 1-4pm. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveatflo.wee bly.com.

SURROGATE: Local pop-rock crew joined

CHRISTMAS CONCERT: Ellen Pastorino

Saturday, Dec. 14 Maltese Bar & Tap Room SEE SATURDAY

by the “hardcore electronic bacon” of Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy. Sa, 12/14, 9pm. Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave., (530) 343-4915.

15SUNDAY

SURROGATE

songs of the season. Su, 12/15, 2pm. Free. Lakeside Pavilion, 2565 California Park Dr., (530) 895-8395.

16MONDAY JAZZ HAPPY HOUR: Live Jazz happy hour with Carey Robinson Trio. M, 5-7pm. Opens 12/9. Free. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveatflo.wee bly.com.

directs the 50-member Chico Community Band and welcomes special guests from the Hamilton High School Band to perform sing-along

we're there when you

Need Us!

LAURIE DANA: Soul, light rock, blues, country, Tin Pan Alley, jazz and more.

W, 7-9pm. Free. VIP Ultra Lounge, 191 E. Second St.

OLD-TIME SLOW JAM: Bring your blue-

17TUESDAY LEFTOVER CUTIES: The four-piece out of Venice perform sultry jazz-tinged songs from their new album The Spark & The Fire. The Novelists open. Tu, 12/17, 7:30pm. $15. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 1075 E. 20th St., (530) 8924647, www.sierranevada.com.

grass instruments and song suggestions for this jam hosted by Jim Meyers. Third W of every month, 7-9pm. Free. Sid Lewis’ Acoustic College, 932 W. Eighth Ave., (530) 876-8629.

OPEN MIC: An all-ages open mic for musi-

Last April, local musician Julian Ruck invited a number of other local musicians of all stripes to participate in the Electric Canyon Convergence. The goal was for each musician to pitch in $35—the cost of an hour of studio time at Dale Price’s Electric Canyon Studio in Centerville—then spend an entire weekend collaborating. While it could’ve been a convergence comparable to two trains crashing head on, the results were actually surprisingly successful, so much so that Ruck’s planning a second round. The original group converges one last time Friday, Dec. 13, at Cafe Coda.

cians, poets, comedians, storytellers and dancers. W, 7pm. Free. 100th Monkey Café & Books, 642 W. Fifth St.

OPEN MIC: Open-mic night with Aaron

and Friends. Tu, 7-10pm. Opens 12/17. Café Flo, 365 E. Sixth St., (530) 514-8888, www.liveatflo.weebly.com.

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band, The Growlers, and bring an instrument and jam with hosts Joe Hammons and Leah Dionne. W, 12/18, 711pm. $5. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 5333885, www.featherfallscasino.com/ brewing-co.

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December 12, 2013

CN&R 41

Hoste d by DEVO Arts & perfo featuring Chiko rmances b ko & y more TBA

ARTS DEVO by Jason Cassidy • jasonc@newsreview.com

FOR THE GLORIOUS During the holidays last year, Arts DEVO made a promise to himself

chainsaw jugglers, spelling-bee champs, interpretive dancers, slam poets,

that he would finally go experience Chico State School of the Arts’ annual holiday music program, Glorious Sound of the Season. It’s the same promise I’ve been making for the past few years, but this past Saturday I finally made good. The show is a fundraiser for music scholarships, and it features every one of Chico State’s music and theater performance groups playing all over Harlen Adams Theatre—on the stage, in front of the stage and at different stations along the aisles. And it was great! The perfect way to experience holiday music: as the Low Brass Choir faded out from the aisle of one side of the theater, the island sounds of the Wavy Leis (uke, steel drum, vocals and hula dancer) would fade in from the main stage. The whole evening was enjoyable, but I did have a few favorite acts—the wonderful Sax Quartet, the brash and energetic Chico Jazz Collective and all the numbers featuring David Rothe on the Centennial Organ. For me though, the two most fun performances were accordion duo Kathy Eckart and David Vallelunga and their passionate dancing-carols medley, and Chico State low-brass instructor (and Paradise Symphony conductor) Lloyd Roby hiding in the shadows of the auditorium playing Øystein Baadsvik’s strange “Fnugg” on tuba—blowing, singing, tapping and even beatboxing into his horn. So awesome. After leaving the theater with Mrs. DEVO and our next-door neighbors, and adding a round of delicious fancy drinks David Vallelunga from The Argus to our bloodstreams, it was impossible to not PHOTO BY SEAN CHEN be in the holiday spirit as we chatted and strolled back to the car through downtown Chico on a frozen and gorgeous December night.

organ grinders, and everyone else with a talent for keeping Chico weird …

HOLIDAY DEVOtions As 2013 begins to melt its way down the frozen drain, Chico is experi-

Calling all performance artists, sword swallowers, musicians, mimes, thespians, magicians, competitive eaters, ballerinas, Olympic curlers, contortionists, one-man bands, mind readers,

the Chico News & Review wants to put you on the stage for the

Keep Chico Weird Talent Show!

Friday, Jan. 31, El Rey Theatre Performers of every style are eligible to participate (visual artists, too, for the Weird Gallery in the lobby). Must be 18-over.

Email a description of your three-minute act (and if you’ve got ‘em, include photos, video and/or audio samples, and any pertinent Internet links), or a photo of your art, plus contact information, and the names and ages of everyone in your act to:

keepchicoweird@gmail.com or mail to:

Chico News & Review (attn. Keep Chico Weird) 353 E. second St. | Chico, CA 95928 Deadline for submissions is Thursday, January 9. Selected entrants will be notified the following week. 42 CN&R December 12, 2013

encing its usual bottleneck of fun, interesting and warm entertainment (including Chikoko’s annual three-day weekend of creative insanity—see This Week, page 31.) to keep neighbors in the same room together for the holidays. • Friday, Dec. 13, 9 p.m.: Broken Rodeo. The twangy duo is now a trio with the addition of songsmith Garrett Gray, and they’re playing with OG AD pal Donald (“Der Schwan”) Beaman at The Maltese. • Saturday, Dec. 14, 5:30 p.m.: A Muslim Christmas, at 1078 Gallery. Local singer-songwriter Aamir Malik presents his Chico Arts Commission mini-grant-funded short film about a Muslim who sings a song called “Muslims Love Jesus, Too” while attending a Christmas party. • Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 p.m.: Magnolia Gift & Garden anniversary. Celebrate the nursery’s five years with an afternoon performance by The Yule Logs. • Season of The Pageant: The Pageant Theatre has already exceeded its $51,000 crowdfunding goal for its new digital-projection system, and with the many benefits happening over the next couple of weeks, it’s likely they’ll raise enough extra dough to start updating the theater’s sound system and seating as well. In addition to the Jonathan Richman show that just happened (Dec. 11), there’s Rogue Theatre’s encore presentation of The Weir, the ghost story in an Irish bar that will be presented in Chico’s “Irish” bar, Duffy’s Tavern (Dec. 15, 7 p.m.); Winchester Goose’s movie-poster-art auction (Dec. 19, 6 p.m.); and the Bad Santa Xmas Getdown Party, an all-day music/variety show at the DownLo (Dec. 22, 4 p.m.-close). • Friday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m.: Christmas Miracle Telethon. The dudes in Bogg bring together a variety of actors and musicians—Loki Miller, Lisa Valentine, Matt Hammons, Aubrey The Weir is coming to Duffy’s. Debauchery, and more—for an eclectic night of music, improv and sketch comedy at the 1078 Gallery. • Saturday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m.: Radiohead vs. Queen vs. Carole King. Two cover nights go headto-head on the Saturday before Christmas: At Café Coda, more than 20 local acts delve into Radiohead’s catalog, and at the same time at the DownLo, the Living Karaoke Band provides the backing band for a rotating cast of vocalists taking turns singing Queen and King songs. • Dec. 20-22, 7:30 p.m.: Twilight Zone Live! Craig Blamer’s beloved Late Nite staple is back at the Blue Room, for three showings.

Find Us Online At:

www.chico.newsreview.com

BUTTE COUNTY LIVING

Love’s ReAL estAte Green for Green

Open House Guide | Home Sales Listings | Featured Home of the Week

comfortable and stable indoor temperatures and healthier indoor air quality. LEED- and GreenPointrated homes also feature efficient water use, sustainable nontoxic building materials, and other attributes that reduce impact on the environment.

A re “green” homes worth more? Two high-brow

professors did a study to find out. High-brow professors are the people we want doing these studies, but their scientific language can be tough to take. Case in point: “To empirically test this hypothesis, we relate the logarithm of the transaction price to the hedonic characteristics of single-family homes, controlling precisely for the variations in the measured and unmeasured characteristics of rated buildings and the nearby control dwellings…”

Free Real Estate Listings Find Us Online At:

www.chico.newsreview.com

NEED ATTENTION?

Translation: Yes. Green homes sell for 9 percent more than regular homes in California. “Green” means a home labeled as LEED- (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design), Energy Star- or GreenPoint-rated. The study is a 29-page report titled The Value of Green Labels in the California Housing Market. The high-brow professors are Nils Kok of UC Berkeley and the Netherlands, and Matthew E. Kahn of UCLA. Both have degrees, accolades and credentials as long as your arm.

THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY.

After the good professors determined green homes are indeed worth more, they asked themselves: What factors influence the value homeowners place on green or energy-efficient homes—Hotter climate? Higher electricity prices? Environmental ideology? The professors found that the premium paid for a home with a green label varies from region to region in California, and is highest in the areas with hotter climates, because the green label means big cost savings in the cooling of a home, more so than the cost savings of efficiently heating a home. The price premium is also “positively correlated to the environmental ideology of the region.” In other words, the more Prius drivers you see in a given region, the higher the premium you’ll find paid for a green home. Our region certainly has a hotter climate, but are we seeing a price premium “positively correlated to the environmental ideology” of our region? Answer: Count the Priuses. Then call in the highbrow professors.

Green homes have benefits beyond energy cost savings, the profs report, such as more

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